the phases and sexual behaviours of mating
Investigation
Urine smelling – the male will typical approach a sample of female urine found on the ground before putting his snout directly into the sample to sniff; alternatively, he will stand, stretching up his neck and retracting the upper lip to bare the gums and wrinkle his nose. This behaviour allows the male to assess the reproductive status of the female.
Approach – in order to attempt to smell the urogenital area of the female, the male will frequently walk up behind the female repeatedly.
Urogenital sniff – the male, if the female permits it, will sniff the urogenital opening to further assess her reproductive status.
Evading – if the female turns her rump away from the male whilst running or walking away, this is a sign of rejection/the female is not sexually receptive (in preoestrus). The female may also show signs of aggression to the male and may bite or chase him away.
Attraction
Nudging – if attracted, the female will repeatedly approach the male and make nose to nose contact; alternatively, if he is asleep, she will repeatedly use her nose to nudge his flank to wake him up. This is done so to attract the attention of a male that the female is interested in.
Attraction actions – to attract the attention of a male, the female will frequently present her rump/urogenital area in front of him, she may even rub her flank against his flank or nose. The female will also often dig and urinate in front of him.
Chase
Chase – to initiate courtship, the female will either walk/trot around in spiral circles, straight lines or randomly around the area with the male following closely. This is done so when the female wishes to signal to the male that she is in/coming into oestrus.
Rump bite – the chase will speed up into a run for approximately a minute. To signal the female to stop moving and that the male is prepared to mate, he will give a significant bite to her rump by bipedally running or hopping on her back. This chase can be seen in the video below!
Restraint
Grasp and restraint – the male will flip the female onto her side to orientate a position for penile intromission by jumping onto her back, grasping her hips and rolling them both onto one side. An example of this can be seen in the video below!
Kicking and turning – if the female is not yet ready to mate/she is not in oestrus yet, she will kick at the male and try to turn herself back into an upright position whilst moving her rump away from him.
Catch and release – if the female wishes to test the male with a prolonged chase (stamina test), she will attempt to release herself from the male’s grip and, if successful, she will retreat away. The male will then chase her again, bites her rump and attempts to grasp her until successful penile intromission.
Coitus – when the female is pinned between the teeth of the male and his forelimbs (teeth embedded in her rump and forelimbs around the pelvis), the male will then caudally direct his penis and press it against the female’s urogenital area. Coitus is achieved with the male’s rhythmic pelvic thrusting while both individuals lie on their side.
Recovery – coitus is ceased, the male releases the female and after a recovery period, either partner may reinitiate the courtship/mating ritual again.
Urine smelling – the male will typical approach a sample of female urine found on the ground before putting his snout directly into the sample to sniff; alternatively, he will stand, stretching up his neck and retracting the upper lip to bare the gums and wrinkle his nose. This behaviour allows the male to assess the reproductive status of the female.
Approach – in order to attempt to smell the urogenital area of the female, the male will frequently walk up behind the female repeatedly.
Urogenital sniff – the male, if the female permits it, will sniff the urogenital opening to further assess her reproductive status.
Evading – if the female turns her rump away from the male whilst running or walking away, this is a sign of rejection/the female is not sexually receptive (in preoestrus). The female may also show signs of aggression to the male and may bite or chase him away.
Attraction
Nudging – if attracted, the female will repeatedly approach the male and make nose to nose contact; alternatively, if he is asleep, she will repeatedly use her nose to nudge his flank to wake him up. This is done so to attract the attention of a male that the female is interested in.
Attraction actions – to attract the attention of a male, the female will frequently present her rump/urogenital area in front of him, she may even rub her flank against his flank or nose. The female will also often dig and urinate in front of him.
Chase
Chase – to initiate courtship, the female will either walk/trot around in spiral circles, straight lines or randomly around the area with the male following closely. This is done so when the female wishes to signal to the male that she is in/coming into oestrus.
Rump bite – the chase will speed up into a run for approximately a minute. To signal the female to stop moving and that the male is prepared to mate, he will give a significant bite to her rump by bipedally running or hopping on her back. This chase can be seen in the video below!
Restraint
Grasp and restraint – the male will flip the female onto her side to orientate a position for penile intromission by jumping onto her back, grasping her hips and rolling them both onto one side. An example of this can be seen in the video below!
Kicking and turning – if the female is not yet ready to mate/she is not in oestrus yet, she will kick at the male and try to turn herself back into an upright position whilst moving her rump away from him.
Catch and release – if the female wishes to test the male with a prolonged chase (stamina test), she will attempt to release herself from the male’s grip and, if successful, she will retreat away. The male will then chase her again, bites her rump and attempts to grasp her until successful penile intromission.
Coitus – when the female is pinned between the teeth of the male and his forelimbs (teeth embedded in her rump and forelimbs around the pelvis), the male will then caudally direct his penis and press it against the female’s urogenital area. Coitus is achieved with the male’s rhythmic pelvic thrusting while both individuals lie on their side.
Recovery – coitus is ceased, the male releases the female and after a recovery period, either partner may reinitiate the courtship/mating ritual again.
References:
Hogan, L 2011 ‘Reproductive Behaviour of the Southern Hairy-nosed Womat’, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Hogan, L 2011 ‘Reproductive Behaviour of the Southern Hairy-nosed Womat’, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.