World · North America · 4 hrs ago
Bull and male donkey repeatedly engaged in sexual activity in Ethiopia
Researchers observed a bull and male donkey in Ethiopia repeatedly engaging in sexual activity when their owners brought them to the same grazing field.
The bull, named Achille, mounted the donkey, Patroclo, 51 times over four days in March.
Researchers also recorded 34 instances of penetration, and the donkey did not avoid the bull’s advances.
The animals did not live together, but were often seen close to each other and showed behaviors such as licking and nuzzling.
Their repeated, exclusive interaction is unusual because sexual behavior between different species and between same-sex animals remains poorly documented.
The findings were published in the journal Current Biology on November 2.
Researchers say observations like this can broaden understanding of the range of sexual behavior in non-human animals.
Researchers observed a bull repeatedly mount the same male donkey in Ethiopia’s highlands.
The animals were observed engaging in sexual activity 51 times over four days in March.
Researchers recorded penetration in 34 of the episodes.
The bull and donkey lived separately and met when their owners brought animals to a shared grazing field.
The study was published November 2 in the journal Current Biology.
- Who
- A bull named Achille and a male donkey named Patroclo.
- What
- Researchers observed repeated sexual activity between the animals, including 51 mounting episodes and 34 instances of penetration.
- When
- The observations took place over four days in March; the year is not stated.
- Where
- A shared grazing field in the Ethiopian Highlands.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Researchers observed Achille mount Patroclo 51 times over four days.
The study was published in Current Biology.
CNN published its report on the observations.
- Mounting episodes
- 51 over four days
- Penetration instances
- 34
- Bull
- Achille
- Male donkey
- Patroclo
- Study journal
- Current Biology
- Location
- Ethiopian Highlands
What people are saying
An unexpected encounter led us to an entirely new research question.
What was unexpected for us was evidently a familiar sight to them.
We know so little about non-reproductive sexual behaviours across the animal kingdom.