11 Interesting And Horrific Animal Mating Rituals

A Ball Of Garter snakes

Female garter snakes keep the male snakes waiting as they are known to come out of hibernation a little later than males. After a female has woken, the males waste no time and begin swarming around the females. The garter snakes essentially start to form balls, which consist of dozens of male snakes all trying to win over one female. To improve their chances, some male snakes will release a pheromone that resembles a female hormone to confuse the others and prevent them from having sexual contact with the real female. The mating balls can become quite violent, and the female snakes often try to get away. Males can even go as far as releasing deoxygenated air to suffocate the female which creates a stressful situation. The hostile environment makes the female react by opening her cloaca which presents the male with a mating opportunity.