Oedipus complex in an Antarctic fur seal pup?
We present the first evidence of a possible case of the Oedipus complex in a nonprimate. An Antarctic fur seal pup, Arctocephalus gazella, unsuccessfully directed what appeared to be copulatory behaviour towards its own mother on several occasions. A herding sub-adult bull chased the pup from the fe...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/17519 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-001-0273-1 |
| Summary: | We present the first evidence of a possible case of the Oedipus complex in a nonprimate. An Antarctic fur seal pup, Arctocephalus gazella, unsuccessfully directed what appeared to be copulatory behaviour towards its own mother on several occasions. A herding sub-adult bull chased the pup from the female, which strengthens our suggestion that it was copulatory behaviour we witnessed. This seemed to constitute innocent sexual play with elements of the Oedipus complex rather than coercion because the female was not stressed nor did the pup possess the physical strength to coerce the female. The Department of Science and Technology, through the National Research Foundation (South Africa), provided financial support. http://www.springer.com/life+sci/zoology/journal/10164 |
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