Masturbation in the Animal Kingdom

According to many scientists Homo sapiens are not the only species that engage in masturbation. Here are some interesting facts about self-pleasure among humans and the animals on our planet.

"For one, many animals that masturbate don't continue the deed until orgasm (humans seem to be rather goal-oriented on this point). That means that some of the best theories for why masturbation evolved in humans are off the table for other animals. 

For example, studies have found that masturbation can increase a man's sperm count by getting rid of old semen that's lost its vitality, and therefore boosting the chances that young, lively sperm will be ejaculated during intercourse. 

But since this discharge doesn't seem to occur as often in animals, then there must be some other benefits to the practice, scientists say."

Dogs & Cats

As most pet owners know, even domesticated dogs and cats are fond of doing the deed. Dogs like to thrust and rub against objects, people and animals, and also enjoy licking themselves. Cats, too, enjoy self-fellation.

Horses & Moose

Auto-eroticism in both male and female horses is common. While males like to slide their penises against their underbellies, females are known to rub up against posts or other objects - and they have even been observed secreting a type of female ejaculate mucus. Moose on the other hand can reportedly bring themselves to orgasm simply by rubbing their antlers on nearby trees.

Birds

Most birds have an opening called a cloaca used for both sexual and waste-excretion purposes. Male birds masturbate by bending their tails under an object - such as a toy, perch, or even a human's hand - and then rubbing their cloacas on it. Also a female bird will lift her tail to one side and back up onto an object to rub her cloaca on it.

Walruses

Male walruses are among those flexible animals that enjoy not only manual self-stimulation, but also oral. The marine mammals have been known to use their flippers to get the job done, and their mouths for so-called self-fellation.

Turtles

Self-stimulation is not reserved just for mammals, though. This can be evident by so many turtle self-stimulation videos surfacing many video-sharing sites lately. Male turtles will often rub or buck up against a wall, rock or step and repeatedly thrust his penis out of its sheath. The reptiles also emit telltale squeaks of pleasure.

Squirrels

An analysis of the results from a recent study on African ground squirrels suggests male squirrel "masturbation could function as a form of genital grooming," because saliva has anti-bacterial properties, and the act may also reduce their risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease. The ejaculation could also serve as "postcopulatory urination, as a more thorough mechanism to clean vital reproductive tracts after mating than just external genital grooming. The results also suggest that consuming the ejaculate may prevent moisture loss in these small rodents.

Porcupines

Prickly porcupines apparently like it rough - and use toys. According to an old observational study of porcupine behavior: "As the mating season approached, the female porcupine would often rub her genitals on structures such as food and water dishes, sticks, and the cage wire, as well as seize, straddle, and ride sticks about the cage."

Elephants

Elephants have been known to rub up against rocks for pleasure. However, to collect semen from captive elephants for artificial insemination, zookeepers must manually stimulate a bull's rectum to massage its prostate (yep, that means some poor zoo worker has to don a glove and reach up there).

Monkeys

Perhaps not surprisingly, our closest animal relatives, primates, are also known to take matters into their own hands. It does seem to be relatively widespread in primates. The exciting thing is that scientists are now exploring potential evolutionary reasons for its occurrence.
Masturbatory behavior has been studied in rhesus monkeys, gray-cheeked mangabeys monkeys, colobus monkeys, Japanese macaques and other species.

via: LiveScience