South African-based scientists caught fur seals coercing king penguins into an extreme form of sexual behavior on Marion Island in the sub-Antarctic.

Researchers from the University of Pretoria regularly monitor wildlife on Marion Island for rare and bizarre behavior. In 2006, a group of scientists first witnessed the attempt by a male fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) to copulate with a king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus).

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The incident was caught on camera and reported in the Journal of Ethology. Experts have speculated the seals may be sexually frustrated or inexperienced. This behavior could also be an act of aggression.

A research team found young male seals sexually harassing king penguins of an unknown gender, BBC News reported.

Four incidents of Antarctic fur seals sexually assaulting adult king penguins have been observed on the island. In three occasions, the seal let the penguin go but in the fourth one, the seal killed and ate the penguin.

"Honestly I did not expect that follow up sightings of a similar nature to that 2006 one would ever be made again, and not on multiple occasions," said Nico de Bruyn, one of the scientists of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

The seal's deviant behavior "may be learned behavior associated with some sort of reward, or it may be an extreme case of reproductive interference," de Bruyn told media.

The study findings were published in the Springer journal Polar Biology.

TagsSeals, penguins, seals raping penguins, survival of the fittest, animal kingdom, Antarctic animals, Antarctic