A chimpanzee has been caught masturbating with a plastic bottle, in what researchers claim is the first time a chimp has been seen using a man-made object as a sex toy.
Alongside a new research paper published online, scientists have revealed footage taken in August 2018 of a male chimpanzee living in Bulindi, Uganda. The male chimp, Arrali, can be seen inserting his penis into an empty plastic bottle.
“For 25 seconds he made pelvic thrusting movements into the bottle, which he had positioned flat on the ground in front of him,” researchers wrote in the paper. “Araali’s masturbatory behaviour most likely resulted from his motivation to inspect and play with a novel human object.”
The scientists, Matthew McLennan and Kim van Dijk, posted the paper on Twitter earlier this month, writing, “So, here’s a paper I never thought we’d write: Use of a novel human object as a masturbatory tool by a wild male chimpanzee at Bulindi, Uganda.”
McLennan and van Dijk report that the male chimp had on a “play face,” a relaxed open mouth expression they make when they are having fun or experiencing something pleasurable.
“Male chimpanzees exhibit penile erections in various contexts besides sexual arousal, such as food excitement and during some social interactions including play,” they wrote. “The physical properties of the open bottle presumably elicited Araali’s autoerotic response, suggesting he recognized its suitability for that purpose. Considering he exhibited a play face while ‘copulating’ with the bottle indicates his masturbatory behaviour was ‘pleasurable’ or ‘fun’.”
Check out the video of Arrali enjoying himself up top.
