Christie Wilcox is a science writer/ blogger who moonlights as a graduate student. She blogs about whatever she feels like, usually relating to scientific news, interesting biological phenomena, and adorable creatures.
Sexual assault is no laughing matter - unless, of course, the would-be rapist isn't human. Who doesn't giggle when they see a small dog humping someone's leg? But what many people don't realize is that reverse bestiality - where an animal makes unwanted sexual advances on a person - is a true problem for scientists working in the field where the actions of wild animals are completely unpredictable.
Sure, sexual assault is embarrassing though tolerated when committed by a small, fluffy pomeranian with an overactive sex drive. Most people won't report the assailant to any kind of authority. It's even pretty funny when sexual advances are made by large, flightless parrot, even though real harm can be done (as you can see in the video on the right). But what do you do if a much larger creature decides you're the sexiest thing it's ever seen?
That is exactly what conservation geneticist Brian Bowen had to ask himself in spring of 2007 when diving off the coast of Australia. It was a beautiful morning for scuba diving. The water was a warm 78.8 ºF with crystal clear visibility of at least 100 feet. Bowen and his team were collecting reef fish specimens for ongoing research into the population genetics and phylogeography of Pacific fish species, when a large, male green sea turtle suddenly approached the divers.
More often than not, sea turtles avoid people. Their natural reaction to scuba divers is to swim away. However, this turtle showed no aversion to the presence of people on his reef. He slowly approached Bowen, staying about six feet off to the side as he passed by. But once behind the confused diver, the turtle suddenly turned around and aimed himself at Bowen's backside.
Quick to respond, Bowen placed his fish collection device on the side of the turtle, keeping him at a distance. The turtle spun the diver around three times in its attempt to mount, but upon realizing the diver had no intention of allowing such an advance, he eventually gave up and swam away.
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| The face of a would-be rapist? |
Bruce Gernon, an Islamorada real estate agent diving on vacation, recounts a terrible encounter with a large, male loggerhead sea turtle. "The damn thing really overpowered me," Gernon told local news columnist Bob Epstein. The reptilian attacker pinned him to the sea floor, scaring him half to death. Gernon goes on to describe the attack in detail:
I shoved a lobster at the turtle who inhaled the crustracean, and then I spun out of its grasp. I felt I was free of the encounter, but then the turtle, with renewed interest, grasped me again with its front flippers from the back and around my shoulders. Once again it attempted to pin me to the bottom. All the while the stupid turtle probed me in my backside. Being a strong swimmer and determined not to be molested any further by this deluded loggerhead, I twisted out of its grasp and made for the surface and my boat.Bowen & Gernon were lucky that their quick reflexes saved them from potentially dangerous and demeaning situations. Others that Epstein spoke to were not so fortunate. Another male diver, who wished to remain anonymous, told Epstein a turtle attacked him twice, pinning him to the bottom. According to Epstein, the turtle eventually "made good its mating attack on this luckless individual."
These cases serve as a warning to all that animal sexual assaults are serious and dangerous. It's likely that the frequency of such incidents is even higher, as the social stigma of being the victim of such events is so strong that many attacks likely go unreported. Upon publishing his article, Epstein received at least 10 calls from other victims who had not spoken up previously.
Why do animals shag other species? It's hard to say. Evolutionarily speaking, there's no real point in it. Sexing up a member of another species isn't going to produce offspring. So did the turtle or the parrot mistake their victims for members of their own species? It seems unlikely - but I guess it's possible. Or were they just so sex crazed, with their hormones on overdrive, that they simply couldn't stop themselves? Perhaps a truly prepared scientist can find out, if they're willing to put themselves at risk of assault for the sake of a blood sample.
I want everyone to know this, though: if you are ever sexually assaulted by an animal, do not be afraid to share your story. You are not alone. While it may be hard to verbalize your trauma, you have to know that it wasn't your fault. You didn't ask to be attacked. You should also know that by telling of your assault, you are helping others who are not brave enough to do the same. Your account may even help catch a repeat offender. No one should have to feel ashamed by what a wild animal has done to them. No one.
And for those of you who think sexual assault by a turtle or a kakapo is funny: shame on you. Those are real people who have undergone real trauma. Have some compassion! Someday, if karma exists, you may find yourself on the wrong end of an animal's long stick - and I bet you won't find it quite so amusing then.
Citations: Brian Bowen (2007). Sexual Harassment By A Male Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Marine Turtle Newsletter, 117
Epstein, B.T. 1989. Turtle Attack is reported: Loggerhead molests divers. The Reporter (weekly newspaper for the Upper Florida Keys), September 7, 1989, pp. 1-2.
Life Science
Comments
Oh, I love this and poor scientists! I've heard tell of sexual assault from dolphins too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PvzOEzjPqc
Posted by: JRMorber | January 28, 2011 5:49 AM
First, awesome post, and something that needs more attention (like those turtles apparently...)
Second, they should all be glad it wasn't a duck in hot pursuit...
http://www.nmr.nl/nmr/binary/retrieveFile?instanceid=16&itemid;=2574&style;=home
Posted by: Morgan Jackson | January 28, 2011 5:56 AM
Joking aside, this is an issue with large domesticated animals, too. Young male horses sometimes attempt to mount their handlers, either as a display of dominance or out of simple adolescent equine horniness. It's amusing when a small colt does this, but it's downright dangerous when an 800-pound yearling does it. Proper training of an intact male equine includes disabusing him, early on, of the notion that humans are an appropriate target for this behavior.
Posted by: Martin | January 28, 2011 5:58 AM
I've been told that female researchers have to be careful when studying orangutans and perhaps other apes, because they try to rape them. They have to go on continuous hormonal birth control to avoid it.
Posted by: CIV | January 28, 2011 6:20 AM
Like at least 90% of folks reading this I am still laughing ... sorry. But I have to admit, I have never thought about this before, and I have seen many a dog humping leg. What it points out to me, though, is that we "humans" are just another species, and while we think of ourselves as separate and superior, fact is, we are not.
Also makes me wonder about rape in general ... if somehow "power" and "dominance" verses an excess of sex drive might be more at play here.
Posted by: Leslie | January 28, 2011 6:29 AM
During the last session in court, Mr. A. Phile made a number of statements, which could be summarised in the following: "Oh, Your Honour, the guy was asking for it, just check out that slutty skin-tight suit and those huge cylinders, wouldn't you have done the same had you been in my place?"
Judge Amoeba made no reply.
Later that day Mr. A. Phile told the press that he was denied the daily shell polish allowance guaranteed by the law. He lamented that, quote "the turtle rights don't mean anything anymore in this country."
(Disclaimer: this is silly, but I couldn't help my incontinence)
Posted by: Otranreg | January 28, 2011 6:36 AM
CIV said:
How does hormonal birth control help one avoid being raped?
Posted by: Gretchen | January 28, 2011 6:46 AM
This is quite simply awesome - that clip of Mark Carwadine being assaulted by a kakapo had me in tears (with mirth, I'm afraid to say, rather than sympathy).
Posted by: Liz | January 28, 2011 7:18 AM
I know someone who had a problem with this while cleaning the bottom of his boat in Florida.
In fairness to the manatee, though, he is about 250lbs and was wearing a full wetsuit at the time. It was an honest mistake, most likely.
Posted by: tawaen | January 28, 2011 8:14 AM
This is, without a doubt, the single best thing you have ever written. Please please please submit it to the next OpenLab.
Posted by: WhySharksMatter | January 28, 2011 10:17 AM
My husband tells people I was humped by a manatee. I admit it grabbed me with it's flippers, would not let go, and was rolling us both...but there were no gonads involved and I was laughing like crazy. The whole business was video-taped by a tour group, so when he says this, I offer to show people the video so they can decide if the manatee was truly being a pervert or not.
Posted by: CK | January 28, 2011 10:59 AM
I witnessed a dolphin & a manatee attempt to do the wild thing with a (straight) friend of mine while scuba diving. Not on the same day though. Funny, he always attracted attention from gay men too. hmm..
Posted by: Richard | January 28, 2011 11:28 AM
That's the most dedicated naturalist I've ever seen, and a great post. It occurs to me that if the kakapo could fly even a short distance you'd have to stay out of the forest.
Of course there's a whole genre of horror flicks featuring turtles/manatees could come out of this, with big savings on special effects if you cast it right. 'Wanted: Good swimmer who really, really wants to be a star.'
Posted by: jb | January 28, 2011 12:42 PM
Could it be due to some imprinting thing from sea turtle eggs being rescued, hatched and released by humans? It is kind of hard to imagine a mechanism.
Posted by: daedalus2u | January 28, 2011 4:55 PM
I had a friend who was actually immobilized by the amorous advances of a large python. Very peculiar. Definitely the joke of the day at the zoo.
Posted by: ZooDude | January 29, 2011 12:47 AM
I think 'species' is a human concept, and the instinctual programs that animals use to identify suitable mating partners probably tend to evolve only to an adequate level of precision (since their would be not much selective advantage beyond that) - with humans hanging around a lot of habitats they aren't really native to, accidents will happen. For us, a human might not look much like a turtle, but for a turtle they might look and move more like a turtle than any other animal they would normally encounter in their habitat.
Posted by: Phillip IV | January 29, 2011 1:20 AM
" I've been told that female researchers have to be careful when studying orangutans and perhaps other apes, because they try to rape them. They have to go on continuous hormonal birth control to avoid it."
"How does hormonal birth control help one avoid being raped?"
Hormonal birth control works by making the body behave as if it is pregnant, changing the levels of hormones, so, I would assume, would make the researcher smell less sexually receptive.
I cannot verify that this is the case, however.
Posted by: dragonfly | January 29, 2011 4:00 AM
Maybe this is how SIV became HIV :)
Posted by: Fakrudeen | January 29, 2011 10:09 AM
Great post! For a hilarious, if misinterpreted, account of tortoise-foot love:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/17/tim-dowling-tortoise-bite-toe
Posted by: Blackbird | January 29, 2011 10:33 AM
I had trouble with a male Emu at a wildlife reserve in South Australia. He would walk up behind me, put his neck over my shoulder and gaze into my eyes - then try to lead me into a suitable nest-site under a bush, doubtless hoping that I would lay eggs... Turned out he had been a pet in a shearer's family, and played with the kids all day, including going swimming with them. When he grew up and became tiresome, they released him in the bush, where he was found outside the Reserve, ogling a female Emu inside. When shooed in through a gate, he soon discovered humans and took to living just outside headquarters, and to making approaches to all female staff members. Fortunately an Emu is not a very heavy bird, though large, and is not equipped with dangerous claws, unlike a Cassowary.
Posted by: Coracina | January 29, 2011 6:05 PM
I saw a woman, clearly of post-menopausal age, swimming and playing with Moko the dolphin in New Zealand. Not 50 feet away was a sign warning people not to do this.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid;=10587420
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/1000055/irate-woman-whacks-delinquent-nz-dolphin
Posted by: Alan | January 31, 2011 7:31 AM
I don't have the source, but I heard that when researchers first tried incubating the sea turtle eggs and then releasing the babies into the wild, they incubated the eggs at the wrong temperature, leading to several years where the new turtles were almost all males. These generations of turtles should be reaching sexual maturity about now, and the males vastly out-number the females, so yeah....
Posted by: Blorgle | January 31, 2011 11:08 AM
I recently learned that Orangutans (unlike other primates) frequently use rape as a reproductive strategy, especially the younger males who don't yet have large cheek-flaps and thus are not appealing to females.
The scary part is that they have been known to sexually assault human females. Imagine being raped by a 250lb male orangutan. Frightening.
Posted by: Emilyn | January 31, 2011 2:31 PM
I almost got caught up in a three-way with two cows. When cows are in heat, they'll hump each other. I'm not sure why, since they're both females. Maybe the behavior is a signal to bulls that there's some hot bovine action up in the pasture.
Anyway, I was out in the field bringing in the milking herd when a couple of the cows start going at it. We're talking several hundred pounds of beef, hoofs, and horns flying around. I tried breaking them up... dumb idea.... and almost got knocked to the ground.
I swear one of the cows gave me a look that said, "you're next loverboy." I quit that scene, cause that's not how I roll.
Posted by: PlaydoPlato | February 1, 2011 2:54 AM