This cannibalism strategy enables females to produce more eggs. This reproductive strategy, called “semelparity”, also occurs in salmon, and some frogs and lizards – but it is extremely rare among mammals.Īnd in the insect kingdom, it’s not unheard of for males to die after mating, though the reasons are often quite different.įemale praying mantises attract males and after the event decapitate their male companion and devour them. Males drag females into their den and hold them captive, sometimes for days.Īmong the tiny, rodent-like antechinus and phascogales, males are so determined to mate with as many females as they can that it results in a huge surge of stress hormones, leading to complete organ failure, and subsequently death.ĭoing it to death: suicidal sex in 'marsupial mice' The Tasmanian devil, probably not unsurprisingly given its name, is particularly aggressive. Other marsupials are also quite aggressive during mating.
In this recorded “rom-com”, it appears only the male is on his side during mating. A rare video of wombats mating, captured at Tomboye in NSW.
