lbaker@watdcsu.UUCP (Lynn Baker) (10/27/86)
David W. Dougherty quotes: > SOMEWHERE of recent findings that female preying mantises devour their mate > ONLY in captivity, apparently an aberrant behavior due to stress of captivity. David W. Dougherty replies: >> This, simply, is *NOT* true! I watched a Nat'l Geo. special on >> channel thirteen where the nature photographers photographed a >> mating session between two preying mantises. During copulation, >> the female would behead the male (nerves would keep him going) and >> immediately preceeding the female would devour the male. I *DON'T* >> think that the particular behavior you are addressing is a result >> of captivity, as the latter documentary was filmed in the wild. >> >> Let's keep the facts straight...eh? A nature show is not the final authority on animal behavior. Don't believe everything you see on film. Have you ever read anything about how photographers go about filming animals "in the wild"? They don't just "happen upon" an interesting occurance and film it. Often, the wild animals they film are more harassed than their counterparts in captivity. If you're interested I can obtain the name of the reference that exposes a lot of the unsavory practices of which wildlife photographers are guilty just to get that "wonderful, natural" sequence on film. (It would take a little digging otherwise I would quote it right now). Lynn Baker