They put a “hump” on the humpback whale.
Scientists have recorded the first humpback whale to sing on camera, as well as the first sexual act by its species.
Both mating cetaceans photographed by researchers off the coast of Hawaii were male, according to a report on their findings. Published in Marine Mammal Science Last Tuesday.
Non-mating and non-reproductive sexual contact between large marine mammals has rarely been observed in the wild and has never been captured on camera.
The male-male behavior was filmed on January 19, 2022, after a civilian boat spotted the whale pair near Molokini Crater off the coast of Maui.
But these photos reveal a darker story than the LGBT-friendly revelations of the tribe.
A healthy adult humpback whale was observed chasing an injured and visibly weakened adult humpback whale around a boat.
According to the researchers, the healthy males stuck out their penises while chasing the slow-moving male whales, rather than hiding them inside genital flaps as they normally do.
As seen in the photo, the stronger whale penetrated the weaker whale’s genital flap multiple times while grasping it with its pectoral fins, and then dived into the deep sea.
The humpback whales were then identified by their tail flukes, and biopsy samples taken by researchers earlier confirmed that both whales were male.
“Here we have the first record of a male humpback whale sexually penetrating another humpback whale, but there have also been cases of injured and unhealthy animals being penetrated by supposedly healthy and strong whales. “we found that,” the report’s authors wrote.
Scientists said the exact explanation for this behavior is difficult to know, but they suggest several possibilities.
The stronger humpback whales may have mistakenly attempted to mate with the sick humpback whales, may have strengthened social relationships with injured conspecific humpback whales, or were demonstrating dominance over weaker humpback whales. possible, the report authors wrote.
The antagonistic behavior theory is supported by the posture of the sick whale during the encounter. It was curved in a shape similar to the letter S, previously observed during threatening interactions between humpback whales.
Researchers had previously seen a humpback whale with its penis sticking out next to the floating body of a male humpback whale that had died during a fight moments before.
“It is surprising that there are only two observations of such behavior in sick or dead whales in the scientific literature,” the researchers wrote.
Scientists do not know if similar sexual behavior occurred between two healthy male humpback whales, or if it did occur, but sexual encounters between same-sex pairs are common in walruses, bottlenose dolphins, and killer whales. , and have been recorded in a wide range of species, including other marine mammals such as grays. sticker.
