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Strange but true: Seals found sexually assaulting penguins
CBS ^ | 25 Nov 2014 | Amanda Schupak

Posted on 11/25/2014 4:37:29 PM PST by Theoria

The first time marine biologist William Haddad and his team saw a seal rape a penguin, they were shocked.

By the fourth time, they were convinced this bizarre behavior was becoming a trend.

For 50 years, researchers from the marine mammal program at the University of Pretoria in South Africa have been taking weekly censuses of the elephant seal population on sub-Antarctic Marion Island, more than a thousand miles south of Cape Town in the Indian Ocean. In 2006, they saw something they'd never seen before. A fur seal (not the species they were studying) mounted and appeared to mate with a king penguin.

They published a paper about the odd finding in 2008.

Then in happened again in 2009. And again in 2011, and once more in 2012.

"For the past 50 years, there have been people once a week on the beaches and this had never been seen. We said, 'This is strange. Why is this happening more often now?' So we decided to write a paper and come up with a hypothesis," Haddad told CBS News.

Haddad explained that it's not out of the ordinary to see a bull of one species of seal courting the female of another species and herding her into his harem. It's even possible that a seal might to try to reproduce with a sea lion. But this was something different entirely.

"This is very weird because it's hair and feathers, mammals and birds," he said. "It's such a big gap, it's unheard of."

In all four cases of what Haddad and his collaborators call sexual coercion, a seal chased, captured and mounted a penguin of unknown sex, then attempted to copulate with it "several times with periods of rest in between."

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: antarctic; antarctica; indianocean; itisntraperape; marionisland; napl; penguin; rape; raperape; seal; wildkingdom; williamhaddad
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To: Theoria
We said, 'This is strange. Why is this happening more often now?'

Well, duh! It's because of G.W. Bush, of course! What else?!?

21 posted on 11/25/2014 4:49:46 PM PST by workerbee (The President of the United States is PUBLIC ENEMY #1)
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To: yarddog

After Obama has finished with the military, very little would surprise me.


22 posted on 11/25/2014 4:50:23 PM PST by Hieronymus ( (It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged. --G.K. Chesterton))
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To: Theoria

I thought this was gonna be about Naval members and Nuns.


23 posted on 11/25/2014 4:50:49 PM PST by SAMWolf (Looking for my generations Lexington and Concord.)
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To: SAMWolf

Kinda of gives the saying “Don’t ask and don’t tell” new meaning...


24 posted on 11/25/2014 4:51:53 PM PST by fatez (Ebola, Obama's solution for shovel ready jobs... Bring out your dead!!!)
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To: M Kehoe

Alright, lets be honest here. Who among us hasn’t thought about doing the same?

What?

Is it just me?

Er....nevermind (slinks off sheepishly) (Shhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeppppp.....)


25 posted on 11/25/2014 4:52:19 PM PST by Norm Lenhart
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To: M Kehoe

Note that the research was done by the Marine mammal research unit. I guess the research progressed beyond mammals.


26 posted on 11/25/2014 4:52:34 PM PST by Hieronymus ( (It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged. --G.K. Chesterton))
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To: Joe 6-pack

Thank you for that visual for us video stimulated types...


27 posted on 11/25/2014 4:53:03 PM PST by fatez (Ebola, Obama's solution for shovel ready jobs... Bring out your dead!!!)
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To: Hieronymus

Too sexy for my (tuxedo) shirt.


28 posted on 11/25/2014 4:53:44 PM PST by FirstFlaBn
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To: Theoria

Maybe the thing between Kermit and Ms. Piggy ain’t too weird...


29 posted on 11/25/2014 4:55:02 PM PST by fatez (Ebola, Obama's solution for shovel ready jobs... Bring out your dead!!!)
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To: Theoria; lurk; vetvetdoug; DanielRedfoot; fatez; ZinGirl; Olog-hai; Lizavetta; going hot; ...
And the guy tell him, "Looks like you've blown a seal",
and the penguin said, "No. That's just a little ice cream!"
30 posted on 11/25/2014 4:55:44 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: Rodamala

Eeeewwwww!!! You’re sick!!! And funny...


31 posted on 11/25/2014 4:56:26 PM PST by fatez (Ebola, Obama's solution for shovel ready jobs... Bring out your dead!!!)
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To: Theoria

So a penguin is driving his car in the desert. All of sudden his car breaks down. Luckily, he’s pretty close to gas station. So he waddles behind his car and pushes it to the gas station. He asks the mechanic to take a look and find the problem. Mechanic tells him to come back in 30 minutes. So the penguin is getting hot being in the desert and all, and decides to find something to cool him off. He goes in the convenience store and buys some vanilla ice cream. He eats the ice cream and makes a big mess on his face. Finally he goes back to the mechanic to find out the problem. Mechanic says,” Looks like you blew a seal.” To which the penguin replies, “No, no. It’s just a little ice cream.”


32 posted on 11/25/2014 4:57:14 PM PST by al baby (Hi MomÂ…)
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To: Theoria
Penguins forced to form Neighborhood Watch:


33 posted on 11/25/2014 4:57:22 PM PST by PLMerite (Why did my tagline disappear? I didn't delete it.)
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To: Slings and Arrows; Daffynition
"This is very weird because it's hair and feathers, mammals and birds," he said.

Dogs and cats, living together...

...only different.

34 posted on 11/25/2014 4:57:39 PM PST by Ezekiel (All who mourn the destruction of America merit the celebration of her rebirth.)
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To: Hieronymus

Can you imagine William Haddad getting caught in the middle of the night watching this by his wife....”What the hell are you watching!!! Seal porn???”


35 posted on 11/25/2014 4:59:41 PM PST by fatez (Ebola, Obama's solution for shovel ready jobs... Bring out your dead!!!)
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To: Theoria

“A fur seal (not the species they were studying) mounted and appeared to mate with a king penguin.”

If they find 1/4 inch thick penguins on the beach it might be a clue that 7,000lb bull elephant seals try it too.

Freegards


36 posted on 11/25/2014 4:59:53 PM PST by Ransomed
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To: Theoria
Well, it is weird. <>p> I had thought that a male mammal generally can't get aroused enough to penetrate and ejaculate unless there is a female in estrus, producing all those "Come to Me, Big Boy" pheromones and smelling of estrogen, slippery fluids and herring.

Aparently I was wrong.

OK, mammal researchers, educate me.

37 posted on 11/25/2014 5:01:42 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o (Stone cold sober, as a matter of fact.)
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To: M Kehoe
I promise that I won't ping anyone in the Navy to this thread.

I already explained the pictures. It was a brief liaison and no one was hurt. If it happened, of course, which it didn't. You have no evidence.

38 posted on 11/25/2014 5:02:01 PM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Theoria

Inverted transmogrified intersexuals


39 posted on 11/25/2014 5:03:17 PM PST by seowulf (Cogito cogito, ergo cogito sum. Cogito.---Ambrose Bierce)
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To: Theoria

“This is very weird because it’s hair and feathers, mammals and birds”

Guess they’d never been to a Nancy Pelosi party before.


40 posted on 11/25/2014 5:03:24 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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