Unlikely Mates

Amazing Fact: Red Ants and Large Blue Butterflies work together
Large Blue caterpillars feed on wild Thyme or Marjoram flowers for the first few days of development. Afterwards, they seek out the nests of a specific species of red ant, and hibernate inside their tunnels. The caterpillar will spend a further 3 weeks transforming into the Large Blue butterfly adult. After its change from caterpillar to butterfly, the insect emerges from its chrysalis and leaves the red ant nest to find a mate. Usually, red ants will escort the newly emerged butterfly to the surface, taking it to a low plant or shrub nearby. The red ants will encircle the butterfly and ward off any predators that attempt to attack the butterfly as it dries out. After the butterfly is ready to fly away, the ants will retreat back into their nest.

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Ferret Sex

Amazing Fact: If a female ferret goes into heat but can’t get any sex, she will die
This is a female specific problem; female ferrets can go into extended heat – during which time they must breed or they can die of aplastic anemia – a condition in which the bone marrow stops producing enough new blood cells This is because female ferrets are induced ovulators, so mating is required to bring the female out of heat. Intact females, if not mated, will remain in heat, and after some time the high levels of estrogen will cause the bone marrow to stop producing red blood cells.

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Dolphin Sex

Amazing Fact: Dolphins, like humans, have sex for pleasure
Dolphin copulation happens belly to belly and though many species engage in lengthy foreplay, the actual act is usually only brief, but may be repeated several times within a short time-span. Dolphins are known to have sex for reasons other than reproduction, sometimes also engaging in acts of a homosexual nature. Various dolphin species have been known to engage in sexual behavior with other dolphin species, this also having resulted in various hybrid dolphin species as mentioned earlier. Sexual encounters may be violent, with male dolphins sometimes showing aggressive behavior towards both females and other male dolphins. Occasionally, dolphins will also show sexual behavior towards other animals, including humans.

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Hummingbird Feet

Amazing Fact: Hummingbirds don’t walk
There is a popular misconception that hummingbirds don’t have feet. It is, of course, wrong. But while they do have feet, they don’t use them to walk because they are so poorly developed; this is due to the fact that they spend most of their time in flight and seldom need to walk. Hummingbirds also have an incredibly fast metabolism which means they are always just a few hours away from starvation.