Zoologists have discovered that bats can mate without penetration. It is the first mammal to demonstrate this unique ability.
CNN writes about it.
A Dutch researcher installed 18 video cameras in a church where a colony of Eptesicus serotinus bats lived and filmed 93 animal matings. The Ukrainian Center for Rescue and Rehabilitation of Bats, located in Kharkiv, sent scientists videos of 4 more sexual acts of animals.
It turns out that the male Eptesicus serotinus bat uses his penis as a hand to push the protective membrane away from the femaleʼs vulva. This process is similar to "cloacal kissing," a mating method used by some bird species.
Alona Shulenko
This behavior is due to the fact that the penis of a male bat is about seven times longer than the vagina of its female, and it has a heart-shaped head that is seven times wider than the vaginal opening. These features make penetrative sex difficult.
However, scientists have not been able to definitively establish the route of transmission of sperm from a male bat to a female, so the research is not yet complete.
"How their sperm actually gets into the female reproductive tract is an open question. Maybe itʼs some kind of suction. We cannot fully explain this mechanism," noted study co-author Susanne Holtze of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin.
- Last year, researchers measured the vocal range of bats and found that these animals could perform death metal. The normal range of their voice covers 7 octaves.