# The shocking sex life of the penguin **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 11, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853 "2012-06-11T20:50:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/1 "2012-06-11T20:50:20Z")
Or at least [the Adelie penguin.](http://ca.news.yahoo.com/penguins-explicit-sex-acts-shocked-polar-explorer-125137476.html) I’m still not convinced this whole thing isn’t a gag. How for instance can a penguin commit sodomy if it doesn’t have a dick? The article says that the report was written in 1915 by a scientist attached to Scott’s Antarctic expedition and has been buried until now, proving too shocking for Edwardian sensibilities. A few sample paragraphs: > [@](#): > > Hidden for nearly 100 years for being too “graphic,” a report of “hooligan” behaviors, including sexual coercion, by Adelie penguins observed during Captain Scott’s 1910 polar expedition has been uncovered and interpreted. > > The naughty notes were rediscovered recently at the Natural History Museum in Tring, in England, and published in the recent issue of the journal Polar Record > [@](#): > > “Some of the things he noticed profoundly shocked him,” Russell said. For instance, Levick noted the penguins’ autoerotic tendencies, and the seemingly aberrant behavior of young unpaired males and females, including necrophilia, sexual coercion, sexual and physical abuse of chicks, non-procreative sex and homosexual behaviors. > [@](#): > > For instance, on Nov. 10, 1911, Levick wrote in Greek (translated here): “This afternoon I saw a most extraordinary site [sic]. A Penguin was actually engaged in sodomy upon the body of a dead white throated bird of its own species. The act occurred a full minute, the position taken up by the cock differing in no respect from that of ordinary copulation, and the whole act was gone through down to the final depression of the cloaca.” > > In another entry, this one written in English on Dec. 6 of that year, he wrote: “I saw another act of astonishing depravity today. A hen which had been in some way badly injured in the hindquarters was crawling painfully along on her belly. I was just wondering whether I ought to kill her or not, when a cock noticed her in passing, and went up to her. After a short inspection he deliberately raped her, she being quite unable to resist him.” I have to say that if this isn’t a gag I shall look on penguins in an entirely different light. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/2 "2012-06-11T20:55:00Z")
“No I didn’t! I just had ice cream!” ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/3 "2012-06-11T22:04:17Z")
Sodomy used to be used for ANY sex that wasn’t penis-in-vagina, that is, oral sex was also considered sodomy. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/4 "2012-06-11T22:15:11Z")
I read a commentary on it. Apparently, a dead female penguin looks similar to a sexually willing one - laying, with slightly open eyes. And personally, big meh - the animal kingdom is hot human, and doesn’t have the same taboos and hangups. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/5 "2012-06-11T22:19:21Z")
So _that’s_ what happened to Manfredi and Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/6 "2012-06-11T22:37:45Z")
You may want to avoid how [ducks rape their mates](http://www.webvet.com/main/2009/01/09/duck-mating-sex-lives-ducks) ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/7 "2012-06-12T10:48:39Z")
They should kick them perverts out of the zoo! ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/8 "2012-06-12T12:42:01Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Sodomy used to be used for ANY sex that wasn’t penis-in-vagina, that is, oral sex was also considered sodomy. I was wondering how a bird can commit sodomy upon another bird, since there’s no, um, back door, on a bird. But on re-reading, it’s a translation from Greek. I assume the original Greek word didn’t imply any particular orifice. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/9 "2012-06-12T12:46:24Z")
I’m pretty sure the word “sodomy” comes from Hebrew, not Greek. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/10 "2012-06-12T12:56:12Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > How for instance can a penguin commit sodomy if **it doesn’t have a dick?** Wait, what? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/11 "2012-06-12T13:10:48Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Sodomy used to be used for ANY sex that wasn’t penis-in-vagina, that is, oral sex was also considered sodomy. Does [gay panguin sex](http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/899967-gay-penguins-inca-and-rayas-get-their-own-egg-to-look-after) count as sodomy? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/12 "2012-06-12T13:18:29Z")
Obligatory _Robot Chicken_ video: [http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/march-of-the-penguin.html](http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/march-of-the-penguin.html) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/13 "2012-06-12T13:49:16Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Sodomy used to be used for ANY sex that wasn’t penis-in-vagina, that is, oral sex was also considered sodomy. If he means penguin oral sex, that’s even worse! :eek: Nasty sharp beaks, they’ve got!\ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/14 "2012-06-12T13:52:42Z")
“It’s just ice cream” ---
**Author:** ![Orca\_Eyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Orca\_Eyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orca_Eyes)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/15 "2012-06-12T16:30:13Z")
It does sound shocking, but one really can’t apply human standards to animals. On a side note, I’ve seen little blue penguins (or fairy penguins, if you prefer) in their natural habitat. They live in Australia, where I live, so you get them sometimes. They’re so cute:D ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/16 "2012-06-12T16:39:22Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > If he means penguin oral sex, that’s even worse! :eek: > > Nasty sharp beaks, they’ve got!\ Not just the beaks - it’s [what’s inside the beaks](http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/8/5/1/131851.jpg?v=1) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/17 "2012-06-12T21:33:41Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Wait, what? I’d like to repeat that. Wait, what? Penguins don’t have dicks? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/18 "2012-06-12T22:37:23Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I’d like to repeat that. Wait, what? Penguins don’t have dicks? Do I have to talk about the cloacal kiss here? DO I? Or will you trust me when I tell you that you probably don’t want to know about this? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/19 "2012-06-12T23:17:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Do I have to talk about the cloacal kiss here? DO I? Or will you trust me when I tell you that you probably don’t want to know about this? But…but…ducks have dicks! I’ve seen scary pictures of duck dicks! Which birds have dicks? Is there any rule of thumb here, or do I have to google the whole gaggle? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853/20 "2012-06-12T23:33:22Z")
[The Daily Show Samantha Bee on gay penguins at the Central Park Zoo](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-11-2004/birds-of-a-feather) I love the alliteration: flightless felchers, buffet of bird buggery And my favorite, calling chinstrap penguins, “strap on penguins” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shocking-sex-life-of-the-penguin/624853.md?page=2)