The comparison to an animal when it comes to sex is often a back-handed compliment. When someone is called a beast in bed for example, we often visualise them to be wild, energetic and completely uninhibited.

This can be two-fold and also mean that the person is promiscuous, does not care about their partner's sexual needs and only looks out for themselves, as animals often do. We speak to two renowned sex experts and they agree that there is a lot we could actually learn from some animals when it comes to sex.

Yes, our furry friends can actually teach us a thing or two about the sack. Catriona Boffard is a psycho-sexologist and cognitive behavioural therapist and Dr Eugene Viljoen is a clinical sexologist. The two say there are some tips we could learn from some animal mating behaviours.

"As human beings we tend to think of ourselves as the highest form of creatures in creation. There are many things that distinguish us from the animal world. For instance we use sex for many reasons: for example, having sex to guard our partners from straying," says Viljoen.

"We can use sex for fun, for procreation, even to lower our stress levels. We also use sex to foster the emotional bond between lovers.

"For all these reasons we always want to strive for the next best experience in the realm of our sexual behaviour. Well, we can learn a few tricks from the animal world."

From these interesting animal mating rituals our experts tell us what we could potentially learn by observing them have sex.

Before snails have sex, they circle around each other for up to six hours, touching with their tentacles, and biting lips and the area of the genital pore.

Boffard says the biggest lesson we could learn from snails is the importance of foreplay. While obviously not spending six hours, Boffard says that many people are mistaken about what foreplay actually entails.

"Foreplay is actually defined as any intimate quality time that a couple spends together. And yes, foreplay is just as important for humans, especially for women. It gives our bodies and brains a chance to meet on the same level and thus be ready for sex," Boffard says.

Lions have sex up to 40 times per day. "While we won't recommend that for humans, we could learn to have more sex with our partners.

"But it doesn't mean we always have to have penetrative sex. Most people are satisfied with sex several times a week or more, so don't put pressure on yourself to having sex twice a day every day if you're not up for it. Many men (older men in particular) can also only get an erection once or twice a day, so again avoid the pressure of more sex and leave this quite unachievable number up to the lions," Boffard says.

Viljoen says that when lionesses are in heat, they actually demand sex.

"Lioness actually force the male to have sex by slapping him in the face with her paw, to wake him up after the prolonged time, due to him being very tired after copulating for 24 hours.

"But she initiates sex, which can be an important lesson in the sex lives of humans, as it is sometimes expected that men should be the only ones to initiate sex," he says.

Panda bears do not care much about sex. Zoo keepers in China had trouble getting pandas raised in captivity to breed. In fact, male and female pandas showed little interest in sex - that is until someone at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base in Sichuan Province, China, had the bright idea of showing them panda porn. Now, when pandas reach adulthood, zoo keepers there show them steamy videos of panda sex as part of their initiation rites.

With this action they have increased the extinct Panda population. This can teach us that it's okay to liven things up in the bedroom if one partner has lost interest in sex," Viljoen says.

Wolves are extremely monogamous; they don't cheat and can have the same partner until death.

Boffard says that we could learn that it's not a bad thing to have sex with one person for a lifetime.

Most people prefer monogamy and have been brought up with this model. Although it's totally an individual's choice, if you've agreed to be monogamous with your partner, then honour this agreement," she says.

Squid can cuddle for hours on end after sex.

According to Boffard, the lesson for humans is to learn to bask in orgasm glory with our partner after sex as it creates bonding.

"Cuddling after sex can be a very important time of bonding for couples, especially for women who generally need to feel loved in order to increase desire for sex. When we cuddle, our brain releases certain chemicals that make us feel closer," she adds.