Have you ever paused to consider the intricacies of duck sex? Well, it turns out that these birds have a rather disturbing mating method.
Richard O. Prum, a zoology professor at Harvard University specializing in bird studies, has delved into this topic and written a book with details that are more shocking than one might expect.
Similar to their human counterparts, male ducks need attractive characteristics to attract females.
For ducks and other birds, this often means focusing on their plumage or feathers. However, not all males have displays worth boasting about.
As a result, forced copulations are disturbingly common in many species of ducks, according to Professor Prum.
When ducks copulate, their penises regrow. Every mating season the penis starts to shrink until it’s 10 per cent of its full-grown size. Pictured is a male goosander duck swimming on the river. Pictured here is a male ruddy duck with its iconic blue beak
The Dark Side of Duck Mating: How Females Evolved
In his 2017 book, Professor Prum went so far as to describe duck mating as socially organized ‘gang rapes’ that are ‘violent, ugly, and even deadly’.
According to him, male ducks have evolved penises that enable them to forcefully mate with unwilling females.
This represents a selfish male evolutionary strategy that contradicts the evolutionary interests of female victims and potentially the entire species, the professor claimed.
Thankfully, female ducks have developed complex anatomical features to defend themselves. Their corkscrew-shaped vaginas make penetration difficult for males.
Professor Prum explained that females have evolved this mechanism to counter the explosive corkscrew erections of male ducks and prevent forced fertilization.
This type of sexual evolution is known as antagonistic coevolution, where genitalia have adapted to combat threats.
Male ducks are infamous for their bizarre penises (pictured is the male ruddy duck), which are corkscrew-shaped, exceptionally long and unfurl explosively when it’s time to mate
The Intricacies of Duck Mating
Professor Prum also revealed that, unlike 97 percent of birds, ducks actually possess penises. In fact, they are among the most well-endowed vertebrates when considering body-to-member size ratio.
During copulation, duck penises regrow each mating season. They shrink to about 10 percent of their full size but return to normal when the season ends, remaining stored inside the body until necessary.
Professor Prum likened the process to using your arm to reverse the sleeve of an inside-out sweater or unfurling the soft, motorized roof of a convertible sports car with a hydraulic drive.
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