What Animals Mate For Life? The Cutest Creature Couples Revealed

Animals are social creatures and portray behavior based on familial instincts.

Most animals find their mates as soon as they reach sexual maturity, while some tend to wait a bit longer in order to mate for life. The animal kingdom is incredibly varied.

Every animal species is unique and different from each other, not only in terms of appearance or mannerisms but also in how they choose to live and survive. Certain animals prefer to be alone in the wild, with absolutely no desire for a mate.

However, the majority does engage in various kinds of sexual practices for the sake of pleasure, reproduction, or both.

In the wild, choosing a partner for eternity may not be as common practice compared to other sexual engagements, but for the animals who do choose a mate, it is an integral aspect of their life, encompassing survival. Monogamy is considered extremely efficient for mating purposes, especially during the mating season.

If you liked reading this article, consider reading other fun facts articles like what animal produces the loudest sound, and pack animals, here on Kidadl.

How many animals in the world mate for life?

As per the claims of the World Wildlife Foundation, around 5% of all mammals and as many as 90% of bird species are known to display monogamous behavior.

Animals that mate for life show strong familial instincts and form coherent bonds with their partners.

They stay together, value their relationships very much, and show utter commitment towards each other throughout their lives. This means that the rest, 95% of mammals and other animals, do not stick with a single partner, instead, they mate with multiple others among their own species.

While monogamy is a rare practice in the wild, it is quite common among birds to mate for life, making it uncommon for monogamous animals to cheat on their partners.

What sea animals mate for life?

Even though monogamy is incredibly rare among marine life, animals that mate for life are still found underwater.

The most commonly quoted example of creatures having a monogamous relationship underwater is seahorses. Some species of seahorses may not indulge in monogamy at all, whereas others do.

Australian seahorses, for instance, are among those animals that mate for life because they are not the greatest of swimmers, which is why when they find a mate, they stick together for their entire life. Also, their breeding success rate is directly proportional to the duration of their stay with each other.

The French angelfish is another monogamous animal in the sea. They are almost always found in pairs.

They form such an extraordinary bond with each other that they have been known to spend the majority of their life in the company of their partner. Not only that, but they also defend and protect each other from other fishes and marine animals.

Other marine animals that mate for life are sea otters and mantis shrimps. They are devoted and involved with their partner as well as the entire family they live with.

Similar to wolves, sea otters and mantis shrimps practice monogamy, where they raise a family and maintain it throughout their lives. Dolphins, however, instead of having strong social bonds with other dolphins, do not mate for life.

Which birds mate for life?

Birds are among the most committed, devoted, and loyal animals that mate for life. They live and mate with their partner for the entirety of their lives.

Along with being known for making unique and special sounds for the purposes of impressing their partner or giving out a mating call, birds like sandhill cranes give out what is called 'unison calling,' wherein the male cranes make sweet musical sounds in order to express affection towards females.

This phenomenon of squawking between the pair helps the sandhill cranes find and locate each other among a huge flock.

Others like the bald eagle, which is also known as a symbol of everlasting love, pair up in the sky after the male bald eagles lock talons with the females. Post this, they stay mostly alone during the winters but come and stay together during the breeding season.

Barn owls, black vultures, macaroni penguins, and swans are also some of the prominent monogamous animals with wings.

While black vultures may have a grim reputation, even among other vultures, they do bond, pair, and mate for life, staying together for almost the entire year. Barn owls, on the other hand, have a very interesting way of showing interest in a potential partner.

While the female croaks to portray its affection, the male brings dead mice as a gift. Once they find perfect mates, they decide to form bonds for their entire lifetime.

Macaroni penguins take their relationships to another level by showing an 'ecstatic display' upon meeting their mates after a long time, whereas swans prefer to form a heart shape with their heads when they meet. Swans are extremely loving and loyal to their partners.

Which mammals mate for life?

Comparatively, mammals significantly fall short in the race of mating for life, given only around 5% of them are monogamous in nature.

Almost all mammals tend to have multiple partners, mostly for mating purposes. Few among them, however, form bonds, produce offspring and mate for life.

Mammals like gray wolves, beavers, gibbons, and coyotes, even rodents such as prairie voles and mice, and the shingleback lizard are a few of the animals that form pairs and retain them throughout their lives.

Gray wolves and coyotes, for example, have similar characteristics when it comes to living in pairs. Generally, in a pack, both among gray wolves and coyotes, the alpha male and alpha female are allowed to breed.

The pair mate for life, raising young ones and maintaining the pack. Whereas for beavers and gibbons, mating is more about sustenance and survival.

Beavers pair up and build dams and lodges, maintain and protect their territory and share parenting responsibilities for baby beavers.

Gibbons, on the other hand, have a song that keeps them together. Female gibbons take on the responsibility of keeping the song going in order to prevent their male mates from straying too far, hence keeping the bond safe, especially during the mating season.

Among prairie voles and mice, it was found that the pair raises healthy offspring if they maintain friendly relations and do not turn on each other. Hence, for the sake of raising a healthy young one, these rodents end up mating for life.

In the case of the shingleback lizards, once they find their partners, they may not stay around year long with each other but end up together every year during the mating season, and once females lay the eggs, males even stay around until the eggs hatch.

What do you call animals that mate for life?

Animals that mate for life are called monogamous animals. The term monogamous in reference to animals means being involved with only a single partner.

Animals can be monogamous either in the sense of mating, wherein they remain loyal to their partners during the mating season or, in the sense of staying together/mating for life.

Some animals like the shingleback lizards are monogamous in the sense of mating because the male mates with the same partner every year and leaves soon after, animals like wolves or swans bond in pairs, producing offspring, and raise a family until separated, which is mostly due to death.

What is the most loyal animal to its mate?

Swans, without a doubt, can be considered the most loyal to their mate.

The fact that the males form affectionate bonds with females by joining heads in a heart-shape as a gesture of showing love, stick together for their entire lives and grieve the death of their mate to an extent where they may not even mate thereafter, is evidence enough about their loyalty.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for what animals mate for life, then why not take a look at what animal has the best hearing or nocturnal animals list.