Seals Attempt Sex With Penguins

Four separate observations were made of individual Antarctic fur seals attempting sex with adult king penguins as they tried to resist.

The rare video was captured on Marion Island, in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean, from 2006 to 2012 and is believed to be the only documentation of the strange occurrence.

South African scientists Ryan Reisinger, William A. Haddad, Tristan Scott, Marthán Bester and Nico de Bruyn, from the South African National Antarctic Programme, University of Pretoria, came across the unusual behaviour by chance as they conducted research on seals and killer whales.

They say the reason behind the seals’ actions cannot be concluded, due to a lack of evidence.

However, learned behaviour or the shortage of female mates due to population growth in the area may lead the seals to display sexual aggression towards the birds, they said.

Ryan Reisinger, from the Mammal Research Institute of the University of Pretoria, worked in a South African team that witnessed the strange behaviour between the two animals.

The research was captured on film for the journal Polar Biology.

He said: “We initially thought that the sexual coercion was a result of the seal’s predatory behaviour towards the penguin being redirected into sexual arousal.

“This may be so, but in one of our new reports the seal ate the penguin after coercing it. The behaviour may just be learned among the seals.

"Alternatively, there may be such competition for female seals at Marion Island that young males sexually coerce penguins instead.”

The seals guilty of sexual coercion were young males and not dominant ones.

Dominant male seals defend harems of females and such the young males do not get many mating chances which may explain their interest in the penguins.

Mr Reisinger said the incidents were shocking to watch: “In human terms you would call it rape. The penguins react as they would to a predator trying to kill them; they initially fight for their lives but the seals are much larger and stronger, so they easily overpower the penguins."

He added: “As field biologists we see a lot of animal death and killing, but these observations are a bit shocking at first. Our human norms tell us this is wrong.”

Fur seals prey on the short birds for food but attempted sexual intercourse is extremely rare.

For one unlucky penguin the brutal act did not end with sexual coercion as the mammal proceeded to rip the bird apart and eat it.

Seals are the flightless birds’ natural predator.

Researchers watched as the six-foot seals, which have an average weight of 400 pounds, chased the three-foot penguins along the rocky beach.

The seals quickly caught up with the terrified birds, mounted them and then began to thrust against their flapping victims.

Their third and final sighting in December 2012 saw the seal insert itself into the penguin and once it had finished and moved away from its victim, the penguin was spotted with blood between its legs.

Forced coercion between animals is common in the wild and does occur between closely related species however it is rare to find instances involving very different specimens.

The full study can be read here:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00300-014-1618-3