Beastly Behavior

When you think of romance--and Valentine’s Day is only a few days away--a rhinoceros is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. It is, after all, a huge and clumsy animal with extremely rough skin and upright horns.

So it may be tough to associate it with, say, passion.

Well, surprise. Rhinos are actually very sexual animals that participate in lengthy foreplay sessions including lots of biting and licking--prior to marathon mating sessions.

A male Indian rhino’s sexual organ is almost 3 feet long, he breeds for one hour nonstop and can have up to 86 ejaculations. Who would have thought?

“That’s a lot of activity,” said Mike Dee, mammal curator at the Los Angeles Zoo. “And that’s with no resting at all!”

Watching a rhinoceros breed may not be your idea of an enchanting Valentine activity, but you must admit it could be memorable.

That’s why on Saturday the Los Angeles Zoo will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a “Prime Mate Party,” which offers information on the unusual courtship and breeding behaviors of various animals.

The adults-only event starts with a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception at the zoo’s Grand Room. A string quartet will play love tunes to set the tone.

Then zoo docents will conduct a walking tour to view about 40 animals, providing colorful anecdotes about how the creatures mate.

After the tour, Dee will host an informative and graphic two-hour slide show featuring many of the animals on the tour and others not housed at the L.A. Zoo.

A question-and-answer session will follow and there will be more food, drinks and music.

“My presentation will include what I feel is the most interesting courtship of the weird and wonderful,” Dee said.

You’ll learn that a certain member of the rodent family can breed up to 238 times in one hour.

Or that when a chimpanzee female is in heat, the male mounts her for about two seconds, then it’s over.

Female camels are extremely finicky. If they don’t like the male, they will avoid copulation regardless of how aggressive he may become.

“Lions are like that too,” Dee said. “The female has to like the male or she won’t let him breed her.”

Lions copulate more than 24 times in a day, each session lasting less than half a minute. The African lions on the tour, Lionel and Cookie, are both sterile but still sexually active with each other.

Now let’s talk about loyalty in a relationship. Birds such as doves, cranes and penguins mate with the same partner for life.

“If one dies, then they find another partner, but otherwise they keep the same partner,” Dee said.

Of the reptiles, fresh-water turtles have an interesting routine in which the male, usually a lot smaller than the female, uses his long front claws to make a sexual advance. She ultimately decides if anything will happen.

Amphibians often go into what Dee calls a “breeding frenzy” in which 10 to 15 males try to mount one female at the same time.

“For example, frogs get so excited, they will grab anything, even a dead frog,” Dee said. “There’s an innate instinct to breed with whatever.”

Elephant seals like live partners--lots of them, in fact. The male gathers 35 to 40 females who become part of his harem. Wolf packs have only one dominant male and female who breed, Dee says. The rest of the pack just tags along, remaining celibate.

“You can tell who the breeders are by the way they carry their tails,” he said. “It’s very interesting.”

And apparently many folks find the “Prime Mate Party” interesting as well. The event began in 1996 with about 30 guests and by its second year the number more than doubled. This year, Dee expects another big increase.

Though the party is just for adults, the zoo also has a two-day Valentine’s Day event for kids.

On Saturday and Sunday there will be face painting, music and Valentine’s Day card cutouts for the young ones.

You can be sure the zoo’s most successful breeding pairs will be excluded from that activity.

BE THERE

“Prime Mate Party” at the Los Angeles Zoo, Saturday at 3 p.m. Event features a tour and graphic slide show of unusual courtship and breeding behaviors of various animals. The zoo is at the junction of the Ventura and Golden State freeways in Griffith Park. The cost is $15 per person or $25 per couple. Reservations are required. (213) 666-4650, Ext. 403.