The images and animal behaviors that we are about to tell you could be quite disturbing. Scientists from the University of Pretoria, in fact, have observed sea lions raping penguins on a remote island in the Indian Ocean
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
The images and animal behaviors that we are about to tell you could be quite disturbing. Scientists from the University of Pretoria, in fact, observed sea lions raping penguins on a remote Indian Ocean island.
In the studio, published in Polar Biology ,, explain that they have observed three such incidents in which penguins are sexually harassed. And in a fourth, at the end of the relationship, the animal is even killed and eaten by its executioner.
It is not the first time that scientists have observed this form of behavior in the sub-Antarctic regions. It had already happened eight years ago. Nico de Bruyn, researcher at the Mammal Research Institute of the University of Pretoria, he explains to the BBC:
"Honestly, I never expected to see sightings of a similar nature to those of 2006 again. Perhaps these actions are caused by sexual frustration due to the hormonal surges of sea lions during the breeding season. It is very unlikely that this is the failure of partner recognition. Namely the misidentification of the penguin as a female sea lion. But in reality it is still very difficult to provide an explanation ”.
These observations follow a common pattern in which the sea lion chases, captures and mounts the penguin, followed by mating attempts. It is the first time that a pinniped has mated with an animal of a different biological class, in this case a bird. Experts are now trying to understand the motivations behind this increasingly emerging abnormal sexual behavior.
Roberta Ragni
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