Sexual harassment of a king penguin by an Antarctic fur seal

• Published in: Journal of Ethology
• Main Authors: De Bruyn, P.J. Nico, Tosh, Cheryl A., Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2008
• Subjects: Aptenodytes patagonicus; Arctocephalus gazella; Marion Island; Sexual coercion; Antarctic; Hayward; McCann; Antarc*; Antarctic Fur Seal; Elephant Seals; Mirounga leonina; Southern Elephant Seals
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2263/9655; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-007-0073-9

Males of gregarious pinnipeds are often aggressive to conspecifics and sexual coercion of females is commonplace. Males of some pinniped species have been known to attempt interspecific copulation, occasionally being successful in producing hybrid offspring. The most extreme case of interspecific sexual coercion reported concerned species from different families. We report a case of interspecific sexual harassment bridging the rank of vertebrate class. Sexual coercion and male aggression directed towards females are well studied, yet not clearly understood activities in nature, boasting numerous contested hypotheses (Clutton-Brock and Parker 1995). For many pinniped species, and particularly in gregarious breeders, sexual behaviour is aggressive and energetically costly for males and potentially lethal for females (Le Boeuf 1972; Miller 1975; McCann 1980; Le Boeuf and Mesnick 1990; Chilvers et al. 2005). In a large number of pinniped species, sexual dimorphism in favour of males is significant (e.g. southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina; Laws 1993) which can allow sexual coercion in some form (e.g. Clutton-Brock and Parker 1995). Occasionally, the sexual intentions of males may extend beyond the restrictions of conspecifics. Interspecies sexual behaviour in pinnipeds is widely documented and ranges from successful hybridisation between closely related species (e.g. Kerley 1983; Wynen et al. 2000) or even between different genera (e.g. Kovacs et al. 1997), to non-reproductive male sexual advances (e.g. Wilson 1975; Best et al. 1981; Mortenson and Follis 1997; Hayward 2003). Such behaviour seems to be highly individualistic. To our knowledge, however, no pinniped species have ever been documented to bridge the level of vertebrate class in their copulatory attempts. A young adult male Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) in good condition was observed attempting to copulate with an adult king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) of unknown sex, at Trypot beach on sub-Antarctic Marion Island (46°52’S, 37°51’E) ...