The Summer of Love

"Birds do it. Bees do it. Even uneducated fleas do it.”

I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors, in parks and nature preserves. I’ve camped in wilderness areas with no roads, trails, or cell service. I’ve watched wildlife from boats, planes, vehicles and on foot, and I’ve witnessed some incredible sights. But this week I had a most amazing wildlife encounter, ranking up there with the top ten in a long life of outdoor experience. And it was in a friend’s backyard right here on Whidbey Island.

They were away and I was asked to water some newly planted trees at the edge of their yard. As I was following the hose out into the woods, I saw an interesting ornament. These friends have odds and ends around their yard, bird baths, pottery, a fancy wood stove door, so as I noticed it, I thought it was a piece of artwork hanging from a branch. But then I did a double take. It was moving. It was shiny. It was alive!

There, dangling from a thread of slime, were two (or three) slugs spiraling around each other with a flowery fluff of egg goop hanging below them. I took a photo and then squatted down to watch. Their slow motion love making was so intriguing I took a video. Okay, it sounds a bit voyeuristic, but they didn’t seem to mind. Totally uninhibited they swirled around each other, smooth and sensual, they continually morphed into different shapes suspended two feet off the ground and two feet from the branch above. Slug de Soleil!

I used to be an educator in Olympic National Park and I’d give evening programs on slug sex (adults only). I’ve read how they leave a certain “come hither” pheromone in their slime trail to attract a mate, and when another slug crosses that trail, they turn and follow. It may take days for the two slugs to come together. Slugs are not gay, straight, or trans. They're hermaphroditic, possessing both male and female organs, so they can mate with any other slug that comes along. (Or they can even mate with themselves.)  I’ve seen how they form a Yin Yang symbol with their eggs in a slimy soup between them. The eggs can be tucked into a stump or under a log and stay for months until conditions are right before the eggs hatch into baby slugs. But all this was on the ground.

I thought about other wildlife I’d seen “in the act”. I’ve watched female salmon digging a redd by madly swishing in a gravel streambed while her suitors vie for position to fertilize her eggs. I’ve watched through binoculars at Mount St. Helens as two bull elk, with impressive antlers, smashed their heads together battling over a harem of females who were tip toeing away. I’ve seen moose mating, while I hid behind a sturdy tree in Yellowstone. I’ve watched eagles in awe as they mate in mid-air, locking their talons and tumbling toward the ground only to separate at the last minute before impact. But I’ve never seen anything so sensual as these slugs, doing their amazing dance while dangling by a thread in my friend’s backyard.

To watch a brief video of this magical event click here.
For more details about the kinky goings on in your own backyard, click here.

Maribeth

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