It’s amazing when we can witness such unusual experiences that we don’t have the chance to see every day. Seahorses have a rather interesting reproductive strategy: the males are the ones that give birth to their offspring.
Watched closely by its partner, the seahorse in the video is preparing to give birth to a lot of babies. As it is well known, the female produces a large number of eggs, which can reach a total of one third of the mother’s weight. But males are the ones that incubate the fertilized eggs that the female places on their body in a special pouch.
During the time just before the birth of the babies a lot of visible changes occur both in the physiognomy of the seahorse and in its behavior. It breathes with more intensity, and the color of its body turns a much lighter hue than its partner’s.
The contractions begin without delay, and soon the babies are expelled from the pouch into the water at an incredible speed. Approximately 1,800 minuscule seahorses are released into their natural environment, and they immediately begin to swim like their parents.
The show is fantastic, and it is one that we don’t have the chance to see every day. Visibly exhausted, the male lies down to rest and regain its strength. It is a strategy of nature that the number of babies is extremely high, as only half of them will reach maturity.