Scientists in Antarctic have recorded the rarest sex assault ever witnessed in the animal kingdom. Opinions are split as to whether it was sexual,a young seal playing with its food or spring fever gone wrong.
Scientists on an Antarctic expedition hive recorded the rarest sex assault ever witnessed in the animal kingdom. Before you get all judgmental, the consensus is it appears to be nothing more than a case of spring fever affecting a dazed and confused teenage seal.
But is it? Other parties at the scene paint a picture of sadomasochistic inter species sex play that would do Captain Kirk proud.
What's on camera is a 45 minutes dance macabre between seal and penguin balanced on the line between sex and death.
The incident is reported in the Journal of Ethology. While first appearances were the seal was killing the penguin,the brazenness of the seal's behaviour soon left no doubt as to what was happening.
The 100kg seal first subdued the 15kg penguin by lying on it. The penguin beat its flippers and tried to wriggle out of there but didn't have a chance. The horny seal then alternated between lying on the penguin and thrusting its pelvis, trying to insert its impressive member, unsuccessfully, into the unfortunate penguin.. Unfortunate because unlike its promiscuous cousins the adele and chinstrap penguins, king penguins lead straightforward sex lives, males and females pairing up for years on end.
The bizarre event took place on a beach on Marion Island, a sub-Antarctic island that is home to both fur seals and king penguins.
Why the seal attempted to have sex with the penguin is unclear. But the scientists who photographed the event speculate that it was the behaviour of a frustrated, sexually inexperienced young male seal. Equally, it might be been an aggressive, predatory act; or even a playful one that turned sexual.
After 45 minutes the seal gave up, swam into the water and then completely ignored the bird it had just assaulted, the scientists report.
Why a fur seal would indulge in such extreme sexual behaviour is a puzzler. Harassment is common among pinnipeds, the group of animals that includes seals, fur seals, and sea lions; and occasionally it happens between related species. Male grey seals have been known to harass and mate with female harbour seals, for example, producing hybrids.
But this is thought to be the first recorded example of a mammal trying to have sex with a member of another class of vertebrate, such as a bird, fish, reptile, or amphibian.
Marion Island is the only place in the world where Antarctic fur seals are known to hunt king penguins on land, so the idea that the fur seal was trying to eat the object of its affection made sense.
Or, the little fella was too young to get hooked up with female seals, and in a state of sexual excitement, jumped on the nearest warm body.
There's also a third, middle way option which has the young seal practicing its moves in a common behaviour known as "play-mating".
Whichever, the morning after there was nada from the seal Not a call, email, text message, bouquet of herring, nothing for the bewildered king penguin to cling to
