How animals conduct beauty contest

Taking part in beauty contest and winning the title is very prestigious.  Miss world, Miss Universe and many other titles are given to girls who win the beauty contest all over the world.  Billions of money is spent on such events and the entire world would watch the entire show. 

 

Fashion show, fashion parade, designer collection show, hair style show, body build up show etc., are many other shows getting popular in the market these days.  After the show is over, the best one is chosen and awarded.  This is all created by men. 

 

Do animals conduct beauty contest or fashion show?  If so what would be the purpose of the above?  Why human beings conduct all these shows? 

 

Animal world is equally filled with such showcase of the beauty and their talents.  All these events organized by humans are more for entertainment or for the purpose of trade but such events in animal world has much stronger evolutionary or biological need. 

 

The fashion show or beauty parade or Miss world or Miss Universe contest do occur very commonly in animal world also.  But the only difference is that all the participants/contestants of show in animal world are males and not females as in the case of human world.

 

During breeding season, most male birds showcase their beauty and might to impress the female bird.  Only when the female bird gets impressed, the male bird will have a chance to mate her.  The show of showcasing the beauty would continue for hours like how our modern beauty contest is.   Winner will be declared and suitably awarded in the world of birds and animals as like in the case of humans.

 

It is not beauty wins the contest, the most and the best beautiful bird or the bird that display or portray its beauty in the best way when compared to other birds only wins.  The biggest trade purpose of the above is to achieve the very biological purpose of having the mating chance and procreation.  The female bird will play the role of impartial judge who will select the winner in a most honest, impartial and non influential manner.  She does so because only the best male can produce best young ones of future.  

 

Every male bird for example, crane or peacock or bird of paradise or balloon bird is created with certain level of beauty.  But all beautiful male birds never win the contest.  Those who knows the art of presenting their beauty in the most appealing way, those who can catch the attention of the judge in a most spectacular way, those who over score others in attracting the judge alone be adjudged as winner.

 

Animals have a justifying reason for the beauty contest in their life but does man has such a strong reason for such an event organized by them in gala way?  Biology has definite answers to many questions pertaining to biological events but the reason for many of the psychological needs of man may be difficult to defines or interpret.   

About the Author

Dr S Ranganathan, Director, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai