this post was submitted on 22 Jan 2025
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That does not help. How in the name of Darwin did this happen?
That's the fun part, we don't know actually! There are some theories though. Among others:
Could be for females to better select their mates since you simply cannot fuck without their consent. On that note, do you know about duck genitals?
Others think it could be camouflage since females, especially cubs, get attacked more often. Did I mention that females also have a fake scrotum?
There's also the idea that the penis is for social purposes. Females can get an erection and inspecting as well as licking each others erections is a normal greeting in hyena land! Presenting your erection is a submissive thing though.
If you dive deep enough into the rabbit hole, you could be the first to discover the truth!
Echidnas have weird dicks, as well. Spiny, and 4-headed. The heads function two at a time, and alternate - though I'm not sure the frequency. Didn't read that far cause there was a picture and I was like "holy shit."
Genuinely enjoyed your responses, I guess hyenas and platypus are things we'll never understand
it really is amazing how learning about nature makes you realize that us humans are by far the least fucked up animals, except perhaps bonobos who seem to have things a bit more figured out than we do.
It's all a matter of perspective, other animals would think the same about us for such concepts as:
Now, compare this to let's say a jellyfish, which didn't even change that much for millions of years because it just works.
and we call ourselves civil ...