Venture into the animal kingdom’s world of romance, extraordinary love stories, unusual mating rituals and everything else in between on Animal Planet’s VALENTINE’S WEEKEND! In this three-day special, discover how various animals pursue their ideal mate and explore the amazing courting approaches exclusive to each species. Also, tune in to the tales of remarkable bonds shared between animals and human beings. The love fest airs back-to-back for two hours beginning Friday, February 14 from 9:00 p.m., kicking off with the premiere of a brand new four-part series, LOVE IS IN THE WILD.
On LOVE IS IN THE WILD, witness the tricky path of feral love and unravel how animals in the wild go through a succession of diverse and well-organised rituals to find a companion. Visit the habitats of baboons, Barbary and Japanese macaques and orangutans, and learn about their lifestyle and behavioural differences such as eating habits, social nature and sexual behaviour. Observe birds of the forest – coots, tits, grebes, mallards and hen harriers – in their most important activity of the year, seducing, mating and creating nests. Journey to the Masaï Mara nature reserve, in the southwest of Kenya and watch how animals, both predator and prey, maintain their social relations in the brutal African plains. Then, visit the landscapes of Australia and unearth the unique, and sometimes bizarre, courting strategies used by males to lure females. Some of which include “boxing fights” carried out by red kangaroos, mating dances Victoria’s riflebirds fulfill to attract their partners and a synchronised display of courtship bows performed by rainbow lorikeets to impress their lifelong companions.
Also happening this Valentine’s Weekend, tune in to a classic romance story of two young monkeys in ROMEO AND JULIET: A MONKEY’S TALE. Offering quirky, new insight into relationships in nature, discover the destinies and adventures of the real queens of the savannah, where females impose their law and rules and outdo their male counterparts on WILDWIVES OF SAVANNAH LANE. Meet DANGEROUSLY DEVOTED pet lovers who sometimes love their animals more than human beings and follow the heartwarming story of love and friendship shared between “lion man” Daniel Radziej, his wife Catherine and their three pet African cats on DANIEL AND OUR CATS. LOVE IS IN THE WILD encores every Saturday at 1:00 p.m., Sunday at 4:00 p.m. and Monday at noon.
VALENTINE’S WEEKEND
10 BIZARRE MATING RITUALS
1) The male octopus’s penis breaks off during mating and will grow back the following season.
2) The male porcupine showers the female with a long stream of urine before mating.
3) The female bedbug mates by getting jabbed in the abdomen by the male’s penis.
4) During the mating season, the red-sided garter snake will engage in a massive orgy, with one female taking on hundreds of partners.
5) The male slug’s penis is so large he must find a mate of comparable size, or risk having it bitten off.
6) Cichlid fish eggs are fertilised by the male while they are being carried in the female’s mouth.
7) The male anglerfish latches onto the female like a parasite, living off her food and fertilising her when she is ready to lay eggs.
8) In certain midges, intercourse appears to include kissing, but it is in fact the female sucking out the male’s bodily fluids.
9) Flatworms are hermaphrodites and duke it out with their penises to decide which one will be the woman.
10)The male hippopotamus attracts a female by using his tail to spray her with his faeces.