Last night in my garden I was lucky enough to witness something I’ll probably never see again. I was speechless. It was so beautiful. Leopard Slugs mating. @bbcwildlifemag @DevonWildlife @bugboybaker @ChrisGPackham @SteveThackeray @raubrey
Slugs are hermaphrodites, they can fertilise their own eggs... so this is quite rare. Some mate once in their lifetime, some never mate at all.
I’d only ever seen this watching a @Sir_Attenboroug documentary on the telly years ago. I just can’t get over it. It was so incredible to see for myself.
Incredibly graceful #leopardslugsmating
Those enormous translucent appendages are their penises. They’re so big they need to hang upside down on a string of mucus to extend and entwine them in order to fertilise. #leopardslugsmating
And yes guys, this one's definitely going in the #naturejournal
I must say that the enormous & unexpected response to my Leopard Slugs mating video has warmed my heart. I'm getting on average 99% pure wonder and amazement to around 1% 'pass the salt' bastards. Well done, Twitter.
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