In the animal world, the techniques of conquest and courtship are different, sometimes they correspond to actual rituals. Just as matings are different, especially the time in which they occur during the year. Much depends on environmental factors that vary depending on the species.
The heat period of animals
As we mentioned, each species is different and this also has consequences for mating and the time when the species go into heat.
Animals are generally divided into monoestrous and polyestrous. The first category includes all species that heat once a year. Among the animals with these characteristics there are deer and wolves, but mostly sheep, cows and horses found in the wild.
The polyestrous group, however, includes animals that have multiple heat cycles per year and are linked to seasonality. This category includes goats, sheep, horses, wild pigs and cats. A donkey that breeds at times of the year unrelated to seasonality deserves a separate discussion.
Factors that regulate the time of childbirth
Hormones play an important role in the phenomenon of reproduction and childbirth. Although it is central, their movement depends on many factors. Events such as temperature, humidity and photoperiod influence the hormonal cycle and the possible mating of different species. In the latter case, melatonin, a hormone produced by the body during the hours of darkness, plays an important role. As the body is exposed to more light, it understands the time of year and the season.
In saying this, it is important to know that there are two types of photoperiods, positive and negative. In the first case, the greater presence of light – which occurs especially in spring and summer – has a positive influence on animals, indicating that this is the time to increase production activity. In autumn and winter the opposite happens and the animals most exposed are cats and horses.
Goats and sheep, on the other hand, have a negative photoperiod that leads them to reproduce especially during autumn or winter, ie when the presence of light is low.
Animals only breed during certain seasons
Not only biological factors determine the time of reproduction in animals, there are other evolutionary and physiological factors. Mating is closely related to the survival of the pups, so for some species it is necessary that the pups are born in the spring or summer because: at this time, in fact, food is plentiful and the temperature is mild. Because of this, the puppies have everything they need to survive and the “parents” also have the energy needed to take care of them.
In addition, the seasonality of reproduction also has the purpose of avoiding mating between relatives. Animals often migrate to different and distant places before they feel the need to mate again and this limits the possibility of interbreeding and interbreeding.