The Science of Sex -Homosexual Necrophilia in Ducks and a Haunted Scrotum

My apologies for not posting a Science of Sex post last week. Balticon really had me wiped out. Since I missed last week, I have two goodies for you this week. No, I said goodies, not boobies. Yes, I realize for some of you they are the same thing. Okay, for a lot of you they are the same thing. Can we move on, please?

These lovely scientific tidbits come from Improbable Research, research that makes people laugh and the think. I met Julia Lunetta, the webmaster for Improbable Research, at Balticon and was thrilled to hear about this site. If you haven’t heard of it yet, Improbable Research looks at all sorts of things you won’t find in the regular science news, including my picks for this week…

Homosexual Necrophila in the Mallard Duck and the Case of the Haunted Scrotum. The first item includes a video about the researcher who saw the ducks in action, and the second includes a link to the article with a picture of said haunted scrotum.

No, I am not making these up. Seriously, click on the links and go see for yourself!

Here’s my thoughts on these two items. First, I have seen mallard ducks in action during mating season, and it is not a pretty sight. Male mallards mate violently with females and I’ve seen some males rape a female to death. So I would believe that a male mallard duck would commit such an act on a fellow dead duck. But why should the mating habits of mallard ducks, however bizarre, matter? As the video mentions, seeing such behavior enacted in the wild ought to make us think about the sexual behavior of all species. At Balticon, I talked to someone about the Science of Sex post I did on how male antelopes trick female antelopes into sticking close during their mating season. One of the things we both noticed is that this behavior is not just limited to antelopes. We’d both seen it acted out by human men. In other words, we’re not as removed from wild animal behavior as we think, and maybe studying unusual animal behavior might clue us in on how we work as well.

As for the scrotum, I have no frikkin’ clue. I mean, seriously? That’s one scary testicle, but I have no idea what it means right now. But there’s got to be a killer story in there somewhere, and remember, that’s what Science of Sex is all about; looking at science for inspiration to write really good erotica!

Take some time to look through the Improbably Research website. Julia was great to talk to, and the website is fantastic!

About Cynical Woman

Cartoonist, Artist, Geek, Evil Crafter, Girl Scout Troop Leader and Writer. Also, a zombie. I haven't slept in I don't know how long.
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