Hägglöf M. Capercaillie courting – an animal model of love. Rondel 2001; 8: Culture (www.rondellen.net, July-sept 2001)

Capercaillie courting – an animal model of love

Mats Hägglöf was born 1932 in Åsele in the north part of Sweden. As a devoted biologist, he made a military career by teaching sea eagles to hunt for submarines. Later, he turned a taxidermist, a politician, a sales manager for hormone pills, a sport administrator, and a vigorous debater. Most Swedish gynecologists and obstetricians of the B.C.- generation* are familiar with Mr. Hägglöf. He is one of the few "civilized" persons who know that a human baby may be adopted, nursed and breast-fed by a virgin stepmother. His publications are exclusively in Swedish. Among the main culture languages, he prefers the German tongue. His writings and sayings reveal a keen eye for contemporary contradictions and tensions between map and globe. The animal model of love provides a spin-off effect of other brainstorming.

Your ideas about love are superficial, Bo! In your youth, you projected your idealized virtue on the dumb swan. Now you accept that other young scientist project the natural promiscuity of small birds to man!

Animal models are precious to research and development. But every species has to be evaluated by its own needs. For a female flycatcher time is nestlings. Her virtue endures for about 10 seconds.

It is a noteworthy fact that man is the one species, which periodically practices monogamy. The biosocial basis for monogamy of man is the 20-year contract of rearing and the female acceptance of male even in infertile periods (Proverbs 5:3-22, 7:4-27).

Animal models may be useful for developing new research hypotheses. However, such hypotheses must be verified or falsified on man before accepted (falsified) for man; conclusions cannot be drawn from species to species without experimental evidence.

The capercaillie provides an animal model of love. Some gallinaceous birds impress without fighting, others fight without impressing. Much like man, the capercaillie both fights and impresses.

About 1955, I wished to make a film on capercaillie courting. I stuffed a hen capercaillie in coupling position, anchored her on the courting stage, and involved the first cock of the morning. The result was pathetic. The cock called and coupled until he fainted from fatigue.

The capercaillie experiment led me to believe that no love life works, when one of the partners is dead from a physiological or psychological point of view.

Mats Hägglöf
Author, Bro, Sweden

* Before Computers-generations