The Bloodhound Gang said it best in their song lyrics when they said, “You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals.” Humans tend to have this superiority complex where they think they are more sophisticated when it comes to sex and mating compared to wildlife. It’s not uncommon for a woman to refer to a man as a “pig” or a “filthy animal” when he’s trying to get her to have sex with him. However, there really aren’t many differences between that man and a pig…or even more interesting, that pig and that woman. Here are six similarities between humans and animals that are bound to surprise you.
1. Pheromones: Pheromones are odorless chemical scents that the body naturally creates that are thought to attract the opposite sex. Pheromones have been proved to initiate many behaviors including sexual arousal, territorialism, bonding between a mother and baby, and alerting female insects to lay their eggs elsewhere. When a female garter snake ends her hibernation, she releases pheromones that attract hundreds upon hundreds of male snakes. This results in a sort of snake orgy. Humans have the same effect on each other, minus the desire to have an orgy with a hundred others.
2. Choosing a Mate: It’s not a coincidence that peahens always end up with the most colorful and most full-feathered peacock that goes after her. The peacock will even go as far as giving a dancing show to the female in order to impress her. It’s the same how a human female ends up with the most attractive and determined man that goes after her. This strange similarity shows that in both animal and human world, the man is the one who tries to impress the woman, and the woman ultimately decides whether or not to proceed with the relationship.
3. Make-Up Sex: Similar to humans, bonobos use sex to get over fights, or have “make-up sex.” When in an argument, these animals tend to kiss, make-up, and proceed to have sex to show their love for each other. Because humans are believed to have evolved from these primates, there are many obvious similarities between both of their sexual habits.
4. Monogamy: Humans aren’t the only ones who strive to participate in monogamous relationships. Emperor penguins have so much love for each other that they spend their whole lives apart from each other and only meet once a year. Once they are in the same place, they use a mating call to find each other. After they are reunited, they reproduce and begin their family.
5. Watch Porn: When zookeepers have trouble breeding pandas, they go to extremes, and it actually works. Pandas often have little interest in sex, so in order to get them in the mood to mate, zookeepers show pandas “panda porn.” Humans aren’t the only ones that use pornography to stimulate their sex lives; the trend has now reached wildlife!
6. Decorate House to Impress: When we’re expecting our love interest to come over for dinner, to watch a movie, or to step foot in our home for any reason, a full house clean is always initiated. We mop, light candles, and make sure our decorations are on point. Bowerbirds aren’t any different. In order to attract a mate, the male bowerbird builds a bower out of twigs and leaves that resembles a small hut. He then proceeds to decorate his habitat with feathers, stones, and whatever he can find to impress his love interest.