Residents of the ocean can teach us many things.
Take these anemone hermit crabs (Dardanus pedunculatus) for instance.
The one in front is a fetching female.
The one behind is an amorous male. You can tell by that look in his eyes.
As the female ambled, the male followed. I trailed the lovebirds (lovecrabs? lovehermits?), as anxious for consummation (or more perhaps) as the impassioned male crustacean.
We traversed the seafloor in this manner for nearly an hour.
They came together. The romantic tension crescendoed. "This is it!" I thought.
Then the male stepped away. Something had caught his eye. He didn't go too far, maybe 30cm or so (Imperial units people: inches = cm/ 2.54).
That was enough.
Sensing opportunity, the female bolted. Making full use of her six running legs, she pressed the pedal to the metal. The female was more than a meter away before the male regained focus. He turned, became perplexed, and undoubtedly thought, "Doh!"
A mad dash ensued.
The male set off at high speed. In a completely different direction.
Freed from her suitor, the female relaxed, began to forage...
...as the male faded into darkness.
A life lesson worth pondering.