Animal Oral Sex

Animal Oral Sex

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Perrin Ireland
January 18, 2016

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Scientists aren’t sure why, exactly, but bats, bonobos and bears (and more) all do the deed
The first line of a PLOSOne paper describing fruit-bat fellatio calls oral sex a common part of foreplay among humans that is “seldom observed in animals.” And yet, Bruce Bagemihl, PhD , who compiled the painstakingly detailed encyclopedia of gay animal sex Biological Exuberance , notes the abundance of animals that have been observed having oral sex. His list includes cheetahs, lions, walruses, caribou, rhesus macaques, gibbons, dwarf cavies (looks like a guinea pig), Rufous rat-kangaroos (more inclined to anal licking), manatees, Kob antelopes, tinhorn sheep, gorillas, and you get the picture.
It can be hard for scientists to determine why animals have oral. Biologists view behavioral adaptations through the lens of their likelihood to guarantee an animal evolutionary success. This means passing along the precious package of one’s genetic material to the next generation—a.k.a. being a baby daddy or baby mama—before being snuffed out by the ever-quickening specter of death. In the wild, if an animal’s going to do something, scientists want to know how much energy the activity takes, and how likely it is to guarantee that animal passes on its genes. Otherwise, from an evolutionary perspective, why do it?
It can also be tricky for us humans to know when something is pleasurable for an animal, which makes describing these behaviors in scientific journals tougher. Many scientists balk at anthropomorphizing animals. But it’s a great scientific question to want to know if, and what, animals feel. Jane Goodall has long said that chimps have emotions . Primatologists, however, really know how to take the fun out of female Japanese macaque orgasms: “The female turns her head to look back at her partner, reaches back with one hand, and grasps the male.” Snooze.
In some cases of animal oral sex, scientists have a hunch about the motivations. For primates, oral sex is usually a bonding activity, or a means of disseminating tension. Scientists think lady fruit bats lick male bat penis shafts during sex because it prolongs sex . A newly discovered species of spider in Madagascar, Darwin’s bark spider, might nibble female genitalia during sex to either solidify or remove a sperm plug with its saliva. And dolphins? They’re just the best freaks of nature ever and obviously have oral sex for delight beyond our wildest dreams, using acoustic echolocation massaging.
Perrin Ireland is a visual science reporter living in New York. You can find more of her work on experrinment.com .

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Megan has been writing for Live Science and Space.com since 2012. Her interests range from archaeology to space exploration, and she has a bachelor's degree in English and art history from New York University. Megan spent two years as a reporter on the national desk at NewsCore. She has watched dinosaur auctions, witnessed rocket launches, licked ancient pottery sherds in Cyprus and flown in zero gravity. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.

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The club of fellatio-loving animals just gained a new member: bears.
Scientists have observed a pair of male brown bears in captivity in Croatia that regularly engaged in oral sex over several years. While the creatures in this case study likely do it for pleasure, their fellatio habits might have started because they were forced to wean too early, the researchers suspect.
The two, unrelated male bears in the study were orphaned soon after they were born in 2003 and put in captivity at a sanctuary in Kuterevo, Croatia. Over the course of six years and 116 hours of observation time, scientists led by Agnieszka Sergiel, of the Polish Academy of Sciences' Department of Wildlife Conservation, witnessed 28 acts of fellatio between the two male bears. [ Image Gallery: See Photos of Amazing Bears ]
The study, published online earlier this month in the journal Zoo Biology, isn't shy about the details. The larger bear was always the one to receive fellatio. In many incidents, he appeared to reach orgasm from the sex act (which lasted for just a few minutes), as evidenced by muscular contractions and, well, fluids on the muzzle of the provider. When the deed was done, he often pushed the provider off with his hind legs or turned away.
The scientists billed their study as the "first observations of long‐term, recurrent fellatio in captive brown bears kept in proper conditions after being orphaned." Researchers had previously seen bears in captivity performing fellatio, or auto-fellatio combined with masturbation, but these were viewed as abnormal incidents, where the bears may have been living in substandard conditions.
Why do it? Sexual reward seems to be a motivation for many species that engage in non-reproductive sex acts. Female cheetahs and lions lick their partners' genitals as a courtship ritual. Famously kinky bonobos do it to ease social tension. Female Chinese fruit bats perform oral sex , seemingly to get the males to prolong the deed.
These two brown bears might engage in fellatio for sexual satisfaction. But the team of researchers was puzzled by one recurring theme: The provider always instigated oral sex.
The bears were very young when they were forced to stop suckling their mothers — an activity that not only provides milk, but also bonding and comfort for at least the first year of life, the researchers wrote. Orphaned cubs have been known to suck their own or their sibling's paws, ears and other body parts as a substitute for their mother's nipples. For the provider in this study, fellatio could be a relic of this infantile behavior, the researchers speculated.
But there are still a few mysteries. The researchers don't know why only one of the bears would perform fellatio or why it has persisted for so long. They acknowledge that the behavior could simply be a weird consequence of life in captivity.
Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on Live Science .
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Megan has been writing for Live Science and Space.com since 2012. Her interests range from archaeology to space exploration, and she has a bachelor's degree in English and art history from New York University. Megan spent two years as a reporter on the national desk at NewsCore. She has watched dinosaur auctions, witnessed rocket launches, licked ancient pottery sherds in Cyprus and flown in zero gravity. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands

Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors

The ultimate action-packed science and technology magazine bursting with exciting information about the universe
More stories to check out before you go
Live Science is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s why you can trust us .
The club of fellatio-loving animals just gained a new member: bears.
Scientists have observed a pair of male brown bears in captivity in Croatia that regularly engaged in oral sex over several years. While the creatures in this case study likely do it for pleasure, their fellatio habits might have started because they were forced to wean too early, the researchers suspect.
The two, unrelated male bears in the study were orphaned soon after they were born in 2003 and put in captivity at a sanctuary in Kuterevo, Croatia. Over the course of six years and 116 hours of observation time, scientists led by Agnieszka Sergiel, of the Polish Academy of Sciences' Department of Wildlife Conservation, witnessed 28 acts of fellatio between the two male bears. [ Image Gallery: See Photos of Amazing Bears ]
The study, published online earlier this month in the journal Zoo Biology, isn't shy about the details. The larger bear was always the one to receive fellatio. In many incidents, he appeared to reach orgasm from the sex act (which lasted for just a few minutes), as evidenced by muscular contractions and, well, fluids on the muzzle of the provider. When the deed was done, he often pushed the provider off with his hind legs or turned away.
The scientists billed their study as the "first observations of long‐term, recurrent fellatio in captive brown bears kept in proper conditions after being orphaned." Researchers had previously seen bears in captivity performing fellatio, or auto-fellatio combined with masturbation, but these were viewed as abnormal incidents, where the bears may have been living in substandard conditions.
Why do it? Sexual reward seems to be a motivation for many species that engage in non-reproductive sex acts. Female cheetahs and lions lick their partners' genitals as a courtship ritual. Famously kinky bonobos do it to ease social tension. Female Chinese fruit bats perform oral sex , seemingly to get the males to prolong the deed.
These two brown bears might engage in fellatio for sexual satisfaction. But the team of researchers was puzzled by one recurring theme: The provider always instigated oral sex.
The bears were very young when they were forced to stop suckling their mothers — an activity that not only provides milk, but also bonding and comfort for at least the first year of life, the researchers wrote. Orphaned cubs have been known to suck their own or their sibling's paws, ears and other body parts as a substitute for their mother's nipples. For the provider in this study, fellatio could be a relic of this infantile behavior, the researchers speculated.
But there are still a few mysteries. The researchers don't know why only one of the bears would perform fellatio or why it has persisted for so long. They acknowledge that the behavior could simply be a weird consequence of life in captivity.
Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on Live Science .
Stay up to date on the latest science news by signing up for our Essentials newsletter.
Thank you for signing up to Live Science. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab) .
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Non-reproductive behavior in animals
This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. ( August 2021 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message )
This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. ( August 2021 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message )

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