Why do male animals gather at leks?

Male animals gather at leks—communal areas also known as mating arenas—to perform courtship displays for visiting females. This behavior is observed in various species of insects, birds, and mammals.1

The primary purpose of these gatherings is to facilitate mate selection. Lekking is a form of promiscuous mating where males and females do not form long-term pair bonds. Because these display sites are not typically tied to essential resources or the females themselves, males congregate to compete for the attention of females who visit the lek briefly to choose and copulate with a mate.123

In these systems, females are often highly selective, frequently choosing to mate with only a small number of centrally placed males. This concentration of males allows females to efficiently assess and compare potential mates, while males utilize the arena to maximize their reproductive opportunities in a system where they provide no parental care.321