All
animals have a evolved a repertoire of innate behaviours and mounting behaviour
is wide spread in species sufficient to designate it as an instinctive behaviour. Instinct or innate behaviour is the
inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour. Which is an unlearned,
inborn behaviour characteristic of a species, this includes unconditioned
autonomic responses and valuations of biological importance (Falk 1997) .
Various studies have identified that naïve and
isolates and animals which lack a sense of smell will also
mount which suggests that the nervous system is wired to effect social and
reproductive behaviours (Leopald et al 2002). When animals are closely
associated for some period of time, they may occasionally briefly mount one
another without thrusting, erection, or other signs of emotional arousal, and
such behaviour has been interpreted as an expression of social affect or
friendship rather than a sexual response (Beach 1976).
Mounting
behaviour which occurs normally in mammals is not associated with any excess of
heterologous gonadal hormones or deficiency of homologous ones. It is
facilitated in both sexes by the presence of normal amounts of homologous
hormones , but males react more strongly than females to androgen and the
responsiveness of feminine mechanisms to estrogen is much greater in females
than in males (Mason 2006). In male mammals, testosterone is released in a
pulsatile fashion in which high “pulsatile” levels are periodically
superimposed upon low “basal” levels. Two different types of pulsatile release
occur: spontaneous and reflexive. Spontaneous release typically occurs multiple
times per day in response to endogenous homeostatic conditions, which accounts
for much of a male's circulating testosterone, and is centrally important in
organizing and maintaining many aspects of male reproductive physiology and
behaviour. At times of anxiety or emotional arousal there is a reflexive
testosterone release in both males and females, testosterone has a fast action
in affecting anxiety, reward learning
and analgesia. Testosterone has an anxiolytic effect, and an analgesic
effect. At times of high arousal or anxiety the release of testosterone can
lead to an instinctive response, the male animal may mount other
animals or inanimate objects as a result (Nyby 2008;van Honk et al 2005).
All
mammals nose, lick, mouth, or otherwise manipulate their own genitals under
various conditions. These responses constitute autogenital grooming. Males of
many species also nose, sniff, or lick the genitals of another individual, but
this investigative behavior is not accompanied by any indication of sexual
excitement (Beach 1976).
Male
masturbation can be inferred when a male
animal repeatedly achieves erection and ejaculation by stimulating the penis or
some other erogenous zone. An example of masturbation was observed in a male cat living in a laboratory cage, he developed a technique of mounting his food
dish and making copulatory movements that led to penile erection and
ejaculation, this behaviour usually
occurred when the male could see other cats copulating on the floor below his
cage. Rubbing the erect penis against inanimate objects or substrates is frequently practiced by male porcupines and
porpoises, and one captive monkey habitually employed this form of stimulation
to achieve ejaculation. Captive monkeys and chimpanzees masturbate manually and
orally, often inducing ejaculation in the process. This activity has sometimes
been interpreted as a completely abnormal form of sexual outlet produced by
heterosexual deprivation and other artificial conditions incident to a captive
existence. However socially dominant male monkeys will copulate with an estrous
female on one occasion and masturbate to ejaculation after a brief pause, even though the female is still available. Therefore
under these conditions, self-stimulation can scarcely be classified as a vicarious
activity, or as a response to deprivation and sexual frustration. Self-stimulation
to the point of ejaculation appears to be rare in feral males, but it is common
in captivity. It is possible that the difference is owed to the lack of freedom
and variety which characterizes a confined existence. Therefore, masturbation
is in no sense abnormal, but its frequency may be affected by a male's living
conditions. However, sexual frustration may
lead to masturbation. In one experiment, male rhesus monkeys were confronted
with spayed females which had been rendered sexually attractive but not
sexually receptive. When exposed to such females, some males masturbated to
ejaculation (Beach 1976). Therefore it is possible that male dogs may masturbate to ejaculation when
he smells a neighbourhood bitch on heat but cannot access her.
References
Beach, F. (1976). Cross-species
comparisons and the human heritage. Archives
of Sexual Behavior,
5(5), pp.469-485.
Chevalier-Skolnikoff, S. (1974). Male-Female, Female-Female, and
Male-Male sexual behavior in the stumptail monkey, with special attention to the
female orgasm. Archives
of Sexual Behavior, 3(2), pp.95-116
Falk, J. (1977). The
origin and functions of adjunctive behavior. Animal
Learning & Behavior, 5(4), pp.325-335.
Leypold, B., Yu, C., Leinders-Zufall, T., Kim, M., Zufall, F.
and Axel, R. (2002). Altered sexual and social behaviors in trp2 mutant mice. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 99(9),
pp.6376-6381.
Mason, G. and Rushen, J.
(2006). Stereotypic
animal behaviour. 1st ed. Wallingford: CABI
Nyby, J. (2008). Reflexive testosterone release: A model
system for studying the nongenomic effects of testosterone upon male behavior. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 29(2), pp.199-210
van
Honk, J. Peper, J. Schutter, D. (2005).
Testosterone reduces unconscious fear but not consciously experienced anxiety. Biological Psychiatry, 58,
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