Sex So Intense It's Fatal
Male antechinus mate so frantically for 2-3 weeks that they die from stress — their fur falls out, they become blind, and their immune system collapses.
The antechinus, a small Australian marsupial, has one of the most extreme mating strategies in the mammal world: males literally mate themselves to death.
During breeding season, males enter a frenzied two-week mating marathon. They stop eating, stop sleeping, and focus entirely on mating with as many females as possible. The stress causes a massive surge in cortisol (stress hormone) that:
- Destroys their immune system - Causes internal bleeding - Makes their fur fall out - Causes blindness - Leads to gangrene and infections
By the end of breeding season, every single male is dead. Not some — all of them. It's called semelparity, or "suicidal reproduction."
Why evolve such a brutal system? The timing is linked to insect availability. By having all males die after mating, more food is available for pregnant females and their offspring when insects peak. The males' bodies even decompose to fertilize the soil, potentially increasing insect populations.
Females can live for 2-3 years and breed multiple seasons. But for males, life is short, brutal, and focused on one purpose: passing on their genes before their bodies give out.