You may like vanilla. You may like it rough. That’s nothing compared to the mating habits found in the animal kingdom!

Like some men I’ve known, captive male giant pandas are notoriously slow on the uptake as it relates to sex. In order to speed up the process, officials at the China Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in Wolong have a very special sixth birthday present for the males; videos of giant pandas having sex. The response is said to be encouraging.

Snails are hermaphrodites. Each snail contains both male and female sex characteristics, but Mother Nature did not take all the fun out of reproduction. Prior to mating, roman snails often apply “love darts” to each other. The dart injects a secretion intended to excite and improve the reproductive odds of the partners, and to determine whether or not the two potential lovers are of the same species.

The female praying mantis often bites off her partner’s head during mating.
Male Praying Mantis: Nice ass, Jennifer
Female Praying Mantis: My name is Angelina
Male Praying Mantis: ?????????????
Female Praying Mantis: Tastes like chicken

Voyeurs at heart, young California sea lions love to observe older males having sex. All that sitting around and watching becomes a memory once he hits adulthood. During the mating season, he sticks to his territory and fasts, enabling him to mate with an average of 16 females a season, one after the other. So many women, so little time.

The female bee’s "vagina" is so tight that during mating, the male’s penis will literally snap off leading him to bleed to death! The snapped off shaft acts as a vaginal plug until the female lays her eggs. You’ve gotta love a guy who’ll go the distance.

Pity the poor Emperor Penguin! The actual mating process lasts only two to three minutes! And they only get to do it once a year. No wonder they do so much walking.

Dolphins have ravenous sexual appetites, mating many times in one day. If you think that makes the dolphin a stud, he’s really more like a dud, each mating session lasts no longer than 12 seconds. To add to the attraction, a dolphin’s penis is both retractable (the flaccid penis is located inside the body and appears on demand) and prehensile (it swivels). You’ve got to love a guy with a "multipurpose" appendage.

When octopuses mate, their sex organs don’t contact each other. The male uses one of his tentacles to transfer ejaculate to the female’s sex organ. The female octopus does not eat while she is spawning and brooding, and dies once her eggs have hatched. Motherhood really is a thankless job.

When Galapagos Turtles compete for a female, they rise on their legs and stretch their necks. The male with the longest neck wins and the loser is left to hump rocks. It can take up to 40 years for males to reach sexual maturity; no wonder the loser is so frustrated!

Since all whiptail lizards are female, these creatures clone themselves! To stimulate egg production in both females, they will engage in pseudo sex (and who hasn’t??) whereby one lizard lies on top of another. The lizard on the bottom will lay larger eggs than the one on top. To add a bit of spice, they will switch roles next mating season.