Muman that's really interesting but it's hard for me to think of applying this to real-world ecosystems.
The mantis eats her mate to provide protein and other nutrients which gives her a greater chance of healthy, surviving eggs. This gives her offspring (both male and female) a higher chance of surviving. It's a practical thing, not anything perverted, even though it's sad for the male mantis.
Of course if a human did this, there would be no good purpose to it and it would just be horrific murder and cannibalism which would require severe punishment.
Sometimes snakes form big "mating balls" where many males try to mate with one female. This allows competition among them so that the most healthy and quick ones are those to impregnate her. Also if she mates with more than one, it allows for some genetic diversity in the population.
I don't see how you can try to put a human moral framework on this. It has positive effects on the snake population, allowing stronger babies. It's not destructive or morally damaging to the animals.
If a human did it, it would be considered to be an orgy or a gang rape and there would be nothing good about it.
Hi,
I hear what you are saying but there is also an explanation for this in the Torah. Everything in creation exists for a purpose, even the evil which exists in the world. We just don't know what the purpose of these things, such as evil, or behavior which is immoral. I have heard many Rabbis say that when we reach the world to come that all the questions about why these things exist will be known, and we will understand with clarity. I am really looking forward for that day because there are many things in my life which I look back at and say, "Why did this happen to me?".
Regarding animal behavior it seems to me that animals do not know right from wrong, they do what their nature dictates. According to the Torah mankind is not just an animal, we are made in the divine image. This being the case we have what is called Sechel, or intellect, which animals do not have.
What I was trying to say is that the animals are influenced by mankind and I believe they look up to us, as the masters of this world. We are not the strongest, or the quickest creatures in creation. Yet we are respected by virtually all creatures.