(Reproduced
from the Times of India 4th May 2008 pg 17)
Frisky
seal tries to rape a penguin
London: Animals will often attack
other species when theyre looking for food. One
Antarctic fur seal however, had sex on its mind when
it set its sights on a king penguin.
The incident, which was caught
on tape, is the first reported case of a mammal
trying to have sex with a member of another class of
vertebrate, such as a bird, fish, reptile or
amphibian.
First, the 15-and-a-half stone
seal subdued the 2-anda-half stone penguin by lying
on it, which made the penguin flap its flippers while
it tried in vain to stand and escape. The seal
alternated between resting on the penguin and
thrusting its pelvis, trying to insert itself, but
the bird played hard to get and the seal gave up.
At first
glimpse, we thought the seal was killing the
penguin. Marion Island is the only place
where Antarctic fur seals are known to hunt
king penguins on land, so the idea that the
seal was trying to eat the object of its
attention made sense. But then we realised
that the seals intentions were rather
more amorous, The Sun quoted Nico de
Bruyn, of the Mammal Research Institute at
the University of Pretoria, South Africa, as
saying.
According
to the team who recorded the event, the seal
was young, frustrated and sexually
inexperienced and thus was unable to find
another seal for sex.
De Bruyn who was unable
to determine the penguins sex, said:
It was most certainly a one-off and has
never previously or since been recorded
anywhere in the world to our knowledge.
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