‘Horny Aussie mouse’ species KILLS itself with ‘frantic 14-hours-a-day sex sessions’ – causing internal bleeding and ‘its body to fall apart’
A SMALL mouse-like creature from Australia kills itself by having frantic sex for 14 hours a day.
The male antechinus literally lives to mate with any female it can until its limited sperm supply runs out and its body falls apart.
These marsupial creatures are native to mainland Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea and look just like mice.
Male antechinuses can only keep up their sexual escapades for about two to three weeks before their fur falls off, their immune system fails, they bleed internally and end up covered in gangrene.
What makes the animals chose such a horrific death for wild sex has baffled scientists for decades.
These horny males will only live for around a year but will only go through this frantic sex phase during the last few weeks of their lives.
Diana Fisher from the University of Queensland told : "By the end of the mating season, physically disintegrating males may run around frantically searching for last mating opportunities.
"By that time, females are, not surprisingly, avoiding them."
Some scientists think the male antechinus is crazed because it is trying to father the most offspring, while others think it could be self sacrificing itself to create the highest chance of successful pregnancies and the species living on.
Deadly animal sex facts
Here's some shocking facts you probably didn't know about animals who die for desire...
- If female ferrets don't have sex they will die of aplastic anaemia unless medical intervention occurs
- Some female spiders eat male spiders after they have finished mating with them because they want to use them as a form of nutrition to feed their offspring
- Both male and female octopuses die shortly after they have mated, the male dies a couple of months after and the female dies shortly after her eggs hatch because she starves herself to spend all her time protecting them
- Drone bees exist purely to have sex with the queen of their hive and then they die afterwards
- Female Pacific salmon die almost immediately after mating while the male salmon survive a little bit longer to protect the eggs
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In other news, the real Paddington Bear is being ‘driven to extinction’ by penis bone poachers brewing ‘magical sex potion’.
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Do you have any strange animal facts? Let us know in the comments...
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