Why are most animals interested in s*x only during "Mating season"?

Question

I was just thinking how strange this is, at least from the perspective of humans. What keeps animals from being interested the rest of the year? Why only during that one limited time period?

Just curious.

Answer 1

B/c they have a pattern depending on the weather, water temperature, migrating , passing on their genes so their species can stay around and try to learn to adapt and survive  and etc many factors play a role and when all the other business is done they know its time to  take care of their business and have fun

Answer 2

Animals are not like humans. Humans have s*x for fun - the vast majority of animals do so only for reproduction. A female animal does not think about s*x unless she is in heat, and a male does not think about it unless he encounters a female in heat and smells her pheromones, or sees her display, or whatever method that particular species uses to indicate it wants to mate. This then triggers the instinct to have s*x, which is dormant at other times. It would be pointless for the animals to have s*x at any other time, since a female can only conceive whilst she's in heat.

One other species which has s*x for reasons other than reproduction is the bonobo - s*x is used for social bonding in bonobos, and each individual will mate regularly with all other members of its group, regardless of age or gender.

Answer 3

Animals are "interested" in s*x only during the mating season in the majority of temperate species where they hibernate over the winter. For instance in collared lizards, they are active during late March through late July (for the adults) by August they have completely gone into hibernation. The males court females heavily in April and June (due to the cycle of the females egg laying). By July they must start provisioning themselves for hibernation over winter and for the following year. Reproduction is highly costly! and if animals mated and reproduced every opportunity they had over the entire time they were active they would not devote much time to growth or body maintenance. It is a simple trade off between growth, maintenance, and reproduction.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Because most animals don't have huge s*x drives like humans do. The purpose of mating is to spread the genes, and create more of their kind. And thats all to them. So, there is only a certain time of year animals will mate, and the female often is in heat by then, so it should be successful. This system guarantees the chance of populating the species.

However, animals like dolphins and primates do have s*x for pleasure, like humans. They also m********e, and enjoy ganging up on single females. No one knows why, exactly, but it's interesting because they are some of the most intelligent animals out there. So maybe their senses for those kind of activities are more advanced.

But basically, the animal kingdom doesn't bang for pleasure. It's all buisness.

Answer 5

That is the only time the female is in heat. Human females are capable each month. Animals only once a year, most of them. And I think that nature has timed it so that the animal babies are not born in the cold winter months.

Answer 6

Gen 1:28, 9:1,7; 35:11 - from the beginning, the Lord commands us to be fruitful ("fertile") and multiply. A husband and wife fulfill God's plan for marriage in the bringing forth of new life, for God is life itself.

Animals seem to know this.

Answer 7

Animals are driven my hormones and instinct. I have heard that Dolphins do it for fun though, being the only animal that does so. Pretty interesting.