It's mating season people!

I’ve suddenly started noticing colours everywhere, fragrant aromas and soft winds, the purple puff of Pretoria’s Jacaranda filled streets, bees are buzzing and the birds are singing... And many of the songs you hear are mating calls.  Yes, spring and summer signal the arrival of that sexual behaviour in mammals that we call mating season. While it is clearly seen in hares and deer, I am very sceptical to refer to any specific time of the year as that being the human “mating season”. We have an Afrikaans saying that quite appropriately sums this up: Heeltyd speeltyd!

 

Hunny Bunny

However, there is just something about summer, isn’t there? There are some things that we observe which I can’t help but wonder whether these are mating behaviours. How else can we explain the excessive number of love junkies at the moment?

“You’re being bombarded by pleasant, exciting, novel stimuli, and novelty stimulates the neurotransmitter dopamine, which in turn triggers testosterone production,” says Dr. Helen Fischer, a neuroscientist, professor at Rutgers University and author of five books on the science of love. Dopamine is the naturally occurring chemical your brain uses to make you want things. While there are other systems involved in love, when it comes to new love, dopamine is the main culprit. And with enough of it swirling around your system, you're prone to fall in love - and fall hard.

Friends, your body has turned into a dopamine factory. Did you know that brain scans of people flooded with the stuff look a lot like brain scans of drug addicts? I suppose this makes sense, since being high on dopamine feels, as many lovers would put it, euphoric.

Enough with the romance. Let's cut to the real science.

My date with Number 8

You might want to call me either a slut or a judgemental hypocrite after reading the following post. Just saying. I’m prepared for that though.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

I received a call last week from my dating service to find out whether I would be interested in going on another date. Number 8 was described as a 31 year old, medical rep that grew up on a farm, lives in Centurion, values his Christianity and who is divorced without kids. He phoned me on Saturday to schedule the date for this past Tuesday evening. The conversation was brief but light and we joked around a bit.

As I stood outside the coffee shop I received a phone call telling me to be on the lookout for the guy in a pink shirt. About two minutes later I was greeted by someone… in a green shirt. After he introduced himself and I tried to wipe the confused look from my face he said he thought that his little joke could break the ice. Weirdo.