Blog #82--Comparing Human Reproduction With the Rest of Nature

Those who have read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel “The Great Gatsby” or watched a movie made recently based on it likely remember the scene where Gatsby goes to great lengths to impress his love interest Daisy during a clandestine meeting. He hires a crew to beautify a friend’s yard and small house and then fills the living room with a vast array of flowers. Most people would consider that a highly romantic gesture reserved exclusively for humans.

However, males of several species of bowerbirds do something extremely similar to attract a love interest for mating purposes. They build a type of hut or tent from saplings and twigs and then fill it with all sorts of attractive objects that females of their species will find appealing. These objects can include flower petals, colorful insects, fungi, shells, feathers, stones and berries. I’ve seen huts with flower petals extending some distance from the boudoir, a type of red carpet that likely makes female bowerbirds feel like goddesses. The male bowerbird matches or surpasses Gatsby’s efforts without money or servants.

The weaver bird male must also build an elaborate nest. He takes small weed stems and ties them into knots to connect two branches of a tree and then builds a highly elaborate nest between them using this knot-tying technique, an amazing feat for a species that can use only its mouth and feet for this purpose. The female observes the entire process and won’t allow mating until the nest meets her exacting standards. If upon testing she finds it inadequate to support her and future hatchlings, she tears it apart and makes the male redo it. Some human males will go to this much trouble to convince females to mate with them, but others give up and seek out easier opportunities.

All species within Nature have specific methods of guaranteeing survival through reproduction. Humans like to think of themselves as better than the rest of Nature, but most if not all human sexual behavior is duplicated by one or more other species. In fact, humans could learn a thing or two from observing Nature with its nearly infinite diversity.

Males of many species tend to be the aggressors in courtship rituals, while their female interests use delaying tactics and other indirect approaches to control the timing of mating. The reverse is true in a few species; some human females initiate the sexual experience as well. Regardless, copulation usually occurs when both male and female are ready and willing and not one minute before. Rape is an exception in humans, but a few other species also have individuals that resort to rape when desperate enough to pass on their genes to future generations.

Males of many species, including some human males, fight each other for the right to mate with one or more females of their species. The common assumption is that females prefer the best and strongest males for reproductive purposes, and that is often true. However, the more we observe Nature, the more cases we find of females having sex with less powerful, younger males while the others are fighting. Some human females also seek out multiple males for sexual purposes. They may prefer the strongest and most handsome males, but they need to reproduce regardless of what genes are shared with them during mating.

In other words, sexual promiscuity is common in a number of species. Many humans believe they are different because they are doing it for fun or to relieve sexual urges rather than for reproduction, but the instinct is the same regardless. We also like to believe we enjoy sex more and have longer mating episodes than other species, but this isn’t necessarily true either.

For instance, mink are notorious for extended copulation. Some matings may last an hour or more. Lions may mate every 15 minutes for one or more days straight. Few if any humans can top that level of endurance. Dolphins and whales exhibit a great deal of sexual variety, with some instances of homosexual behavior and gang rape among their possible behaviors.

As for having fun, humans have no right to judge the perceptions of other species. Who knows, maybe the intensity of their experiences may be even greater than the best humans can muster. We can speculate, but we cannot claim superiority without figuratively walking a mile in their shoes for comparison.

We may laugh at species that join together sexually for only an instant or a few seconds, bragging about how superior we are and how much more pleasure we derive from the experience. But for species that have only a few months or a year to live, perhaps a few seconds is equivalent to an hour or more in human terms. Perhaps they achieve a form of ecstasy in an instant that is equivalent to anything we can experience.

Anyone who has observed mating rituals in various species cannot help but recognize complex mating dances some species experience during courtship. When their energies combine to form a strong bond, their bodies may engage in all sorts of beautiful and complex movements within one energy field. There is no doubt in my mind that these species are enjoying pleasurable experiences.

Humans as a whole are far more inhibited sexually than some species, even in this age of sexual freedom. We discourage incest and other what we call “unnatural” acts, but these are not considered sinful in other species. In fact, bonobo monkeys use sexual behavior to help unify and strengthen the bonds between all members of their group. Each individual can and will mate with every other member of the group multiple times daily.

I have a friend whose main goal in life is to have a vast array of sexual experiences, always striving for a peak opportunity superior to all others in his life. He’s extremely good at attracting willing females who seem to enjoy him on multiple levels, so if anyone can look back on his life and claim success in reaching his sexual goal, it is him.

But he has likely already enjoyed his peak experience. If so, there is nowhere to go but down from there. If he really tries to improve on his top memories, he will need to go to more elaborate extremes (including prescription drugs that have negative side effects). Trouble is, expecting perfection prevents it in this paradoxical world because our imagined expectations always exceed our actual experiences. As much as he has enjoyed his sexual opportunities, he may feel disappointed by the end of his life even though he has already gone far beyond what most human males ever experience.

Sexual behavior is normal for all species; both pleasure and a strong instinctive drive are essential components. This guarantees our genes will be carried forth into future generations if offspring result from mating. But with or without reproduction, the joining of two bodies into one swirling energy vibration is an experience most members of every species remember with fondness.

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