The sight of a male seal trying to have sex with an emperor penguin near the South Pole has caught the attention of scientists.

“Although some mammals are known to engage in leisurely sexual intercourse with inanimate objects – including dead things – this appears to be the first example of such sexual behavior. crossbreeding between a mammal and another vertebrate such as birds, reptiles and fish,” said researcher Nico de Bruyn, an expert in mammalian ecology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa said.

One summer morning, scientists observing elephant seals on a beach on Marion Island, near Antarctica, spotted a young, furry male seal flirting with a penguin. Emperor.

“At first we thought it was hunting penguins, but it turned out its intentions were much more amorous,” de Bruyn recalled.

The seal weighing nearly 108 kg wrapped around the adult penguin weighing about 13 kg by lying on top of it. The unfortunate bird continuously flapped its flippers and tried to stand up to escape, but failed.Over the course of the next 45 minutes, the seal alternated positions between resting on the penguin and pressing its pelvis firmly against the bird in vain attempts to insert its penis.

In nature, such unsuccessful lovemaking between seals of the same species can take as long as penguins do with each other, “but in this case, it is quite long and therefore unusual” , de Bruyn said.

The seal then suddenly gave up, swam out to sea and completely ignored its goal. The penguin did not suffer any damage.

Antarctic fur seals on Marion Island are the only species known to eat emperor penguins. The thrilling chase that scientists recorded has turned to sexual needs, as the mating season is nearly over.

“It seems like at first it wanted to eat the penguin, and then thought about it halfway,” de Bruyn surmised.

“Personally, I believe that aggression and sexual behavior are much closer in evolution than we currently think. This is certainly true for humans,” he said.