The sense of smell of many animals allows them to detect when a female of their species is ready to breed. Tux and Tails Humans usually pay a lot of attention to how the opposite sex looks and dresses. We have been know to wear some pretty outlandish outfits just to get one another's attention. Animals may not put on clothes, but how their prospective mate looks is very important in some species. Males of the paradise widow bird have tails which are roughly eighteen inches in length.
Females tend to pick males with the longest tail.
Experimenters have cut the tail feathers off of males and found they were much less successful at finding a mate. Contact is very important to most species of animals for a variety of reasons. Touch can serve to reaffirm and strengthen social bonds. Grooming one another is one of a primate's most important social activities. Whales and dolphins rub pectoral flippers and their whole bodies on each other.