Weird Ways Animals Say 'I Love You' to Their Mate

They might not have the ability to tell their mates that they love each other, but animals do have their own ways of showing how much they do care for their significant others. They might not necessarily look like love, but for these animals, their actions speak louder than any words ever can.

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Here are some animals that show love uniquely in the animal kingdom:

Seahorse

Despite not fitting for the traditional definition of "cute," a seahorse's courting dance will make anyone's heart flutter in adoration. 

One seahorse initiates the dance by glowing in varying colors, which is basically a seahorse pick-up line. If it works, the male lets the female know he's ready to get down, and the two will begin to dance, linking tails and swimming around in circles with each other.

But, their showing of affection does not end in the courting. After mating, a male seahorse takes up the responsibility of being pregnant and lets the female transfer the eggs to him.

Anglerfish

Arguably one of the most famous "repulsive-looking" animals in modern days, the deep-sea anglerfish are renowned for being, well, appalling. And, the same can be said to how they show their love for their mates.

In their equally terrifying way of showing their affection to their partners, the male anglerfish literally give up their freedom for their female counterparts.

When a person hears about these aquatic creatures, the thought of scary-looking fishes with razor-sharp teeth, dead eyes, and a portable lantern to finish the looks. Those are all female anglerfishes. The "features" of a female makes the male seem harmless in comparison. They look like harmless little tadpoles swimming around the deep waters.

When a male mates with a female, he sucks into her until he literally melts into her skin, permanently attaching him to her. If the "bonding" is successful, he will stay forever, acting as a sperm-producing sack of flesh always sticking to his partner.

Frigate Bird

The large red pouch around its neck sports the male half of this stunning bird species that come into play when it's time to impress the ladies.

He inflates this pouch to a cartoonishly wide degree when the male is ready to court. The bird itself at when the pouch is at its largest and waits to see which ladybirds, if any, will fall for him.

But this is not just a giant, red blob hanging from the feathery neck of the bird: its shape is distinctly heart-like, especially when its beak casts a shadow at the top of the heart that forms the curve.

Nursery Web Spiders

To a nursery web spider, nothing says "I love you" like a little packet of food wrapped in pretty, white silk. As a request to mate, males offer their gifts to females.

The female inspects the parcel, and when she unwraps and consumes the food, he mates with her if she agrees. And the evidence suggests that the male is always lying.

He sucks the food out if he gets starving before carrying the gift and shows a beautifully-wrapped exoskeleton. "They don't even bother with an exoskeleton sometimes," she says. "We're using a twig. "The females sometimes weigh it but are still fooled by how beautiful the wrapping is." The friendship ends when she finds out. Instantly.

Adelie Penguin

Not all gifts involve food. A male Adelie penguin, living along the Antarctic coast, collects rare little rocks to present to his beloved.

The female uses the stones to line her nest, and if she likes the rock, she will allow him to mate with her. Unfortunately for the poor male, if he wanders off and another male presents a rock, she will mate with him, too.

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