Seals documented having sex with penguins
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Scientists are documenting "sexual coercion" in the Antarctic, and it's probably not anything like what one might think: Young male Antarctic fur seals, it seems, have been documented having sex with King penguins of undetermined gender, reports the BBC, via a study in the journal Polar Biology. Scientists observed a male seal unsuccessfully attempting to mate with a penguin in 2006, but dismissed it as a one-off.
But researchers says they inadvertently observed the same thing on at least three separate occasions. "Honestly I did not expect that follow-up sightings of a similar nature to that 2006 one would ever be made again, and certainly not on multiple occasions," says a study co-author.
It's believed to be the first instances of pinnipeds—which include seals, fur seals, and sea lions—having sex across biological classes, as the BBC notes, "in this case a mammal trying to have sex with a bird." Some of the seals are believed to have penetrated the penguins, and one instance turned bloody, with the seal killing and eating his victim, though that's not unusual.
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It's not clear what's driving the behavior, though scientists speculate that it's a learned behavior; that would explain the increase in sightings. "I genuinely think the behavior is increasing in frequency," says the co-author.
Other theories include the seals blowing off sexual frustration, or using the weaker birds to practice. "All in all it's difficult to say really," says the co-author.
(Meanwhile, a study previously revealed that penguins are pretty sexually depraved themselves.)
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This article originally appeared on Newser: Seals Busted Having Sex With ... Penguins
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