The male approaches the female with caution.
He wants to mate with her not serve as prey.
If she accepts him, then he grasps her claws
With his and they parade for hours.
Sometimes the male ends this display as dinner,
But not until he and the female bring
Their mouths close enough to kiss.
These two then jerk their bodies back and forth,
Keeping their legs still. After they curve
Their tails forward, arching them over their backs,
They may touch or entwine their tails.
The female may them attack the male.
The outcome of this assault is never in doubt.
The female kills and eats her former lover.
After a few months the female gives birth.
She carries her young on her back,
But in a day or two they molt and leave.
She loses her maternal instinct,
For if her babies return, she eats them
As she had already eaten their father.
|