Females will typically be won by males through battles over territory, however, males have also been seen to court young females by dancing for them in the water. They dance by doing flips, and spinning through the water and flashing their mane up and down above the water surface. There is also a behavior that males do that researchers have called the “wet noodle”. It involves the males sticking half of their body out of the water and shaking the upper half of their body back and forth making them look like a flailing noodle. Some males with very bright manes may be pretty enough to catch the attention of a female in the river system. If he can impress her with a brief dance in the water showing off his vibrant mane she may follow him back to his den. If the males den is high quality, then the female will stay with the male and he may be able to start his very own pride.
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