NPR | December 15, 2017 5:22 PM ET
Adolescent female monkeys in Japan have repeatedly engaged in sexual behaviors with sika deer, for reasons that are not yet clear...
...report from earlier this year of a male macaque mounting a female sika deer on Yakushima Island....
...The female monkeys were climbing onto the deer and grinding their genitals against the deer's backs. Yes, there's video.
...adult male deer, in particular, were likely to just stand calmly as the female monkeys thrusted. In some cases, the male deer kept eating.
Five of the female monkeys had "successful heterospecific consortships" with deer...
...If the deer avoided the interaction, "the female monkeys often displayed sexually motivated tantrums which consisted of crouching on the ground, body spasms and screaming, while gazing at the deer," the study found.
More...
An adolescent female Japanese macaque on the back of a male sika deer.
Researchers have looked into some macaques' attraction to the deer.
Courtesy of Noëlle Gunst
Researchers have looked into some macaques' attraction to the deer.
Courtesy of Noëlle Gunst
