Animal Facts to Fall in Love With…

In anticipation of Valentine’s at the Grant this Friday (12th February) I have sought out some animal facts which you will otterly love! On Friday the museum will be holding a themed late opening with Valentine’s-related animal tags being placed around the museum. Please excuse the Valentine’s puns – I’ve had a whale of a time writing this!

So here we are, eight of the best Valentine’s-focused facts from across the animal kingdom…

1. Pairs of otters hold each others’ hands while they sleep because they’re afraid they will drift apart.

2. In some Asian cultures Venus’ Flower Baskets were traditionally given as wedding gifts. Why I hear you ask? Well, these sponges were seen to represent love because they house a small female and male shrimp for the duration of their lives. This is a relationship with mutual benefits as the two shrimps keep the inside of the basket clean while the sponge basket naturally traps food in its tissues and releases waste into the body of the sponge for the shrimps to eat.

3. Penguins portray their love for their life partners by presenting them with not a diamond ring… but a pebble. If the partner (usually female) approves she will put it in her nest. Male Gentoo penguins sift through heaps of pebbles in order to find the smoothest ones to give their partners. These pebble gifts are so important to male penguins that they are often found fighting over those deemed to be the best. Perhaps a cheap alternative to flowers and dinner this weekend would be the penguin trusted pebble gift… you can tell your partner your accompanying animal knowledge to set their heart aflutter!

4. Although it is not unique in the animal kingdom that seahorses are monogamous and mate for life, it is relatively unheard of that seahorses court each other for days before mating and when they swim they hold each others’ tails!

5. Questioning the wooing potential of a Valentine’s serenade? There have been studies undertaken on cows which found that they produce more milk when listening to soothing music. However, rather than a rendition of ‘Puppy Love’ the study found that most milk was produced when listening to the not so Valentine’s themed song ‘Everybody Hurts’ by R.E.M.

6. If you’re doubting the human heart, then perhaps look towards octopuses as every octopus has three hearts. Two hearts continuously move blood to the gills and the third ensures circulation flow to the organs.

7. Don’t underestimate the importance of dressing to impress this Valentine’s Day. Both female and male zebrafish go so far as to change colour as part of their courtship ritual. They keep this brief though so they don’t encourage predators.

 

8. Finally, flirtatiousness is associated with albatrosses. For a funny few minutes check out their extensive mating dance.
Valentine’s at the Grant will take place on Friday 12th February from 6:30-9pm. The event costs £6 including a free glass of wine and lots more interesting animal facts!

 

Rachel Bray is the Learning and Events Assistant at the Grant Museum of Zoology.