When research becomes almost too much fun

As evident in this news story, courtesy of the fabulous Jenny D:

The strange case of the homosexual necrophiliac duck pushed out the boundaries of knowledge in a rather improbable way when it was recorded by Dutch researcher Kees Moeliker.

It may have ruffled a few feathers, but it earned him the coveted Ig Nobel prize for biology awarded for improbable research, and next week he will be recounting his findings to UK audiences on the Ig Nobel tour.

Ducks behave pretty badly, it seems. It is not so much that up to one in 10 of mallard couples are homosexual – no one would raise an eyebrow in the liberal Netherlands – but they regularly indulge in "attempted rape flights" when they pursue other ducks with a view to forcible mating. "Rape is a normal reproductive strategy in mallards," explains Mr Moeliker.

But the kicker comes at the very end:

His findings have provoked a lot of interest – especially in Britain for some reason – but no other recorded cases of duck necrophilia. However, Mr Moeliker was informed of an American case involving a squirrel and a dead partner, although in this case it is not known whether the necrophilia observed was homosexual or not as the victim had been run over by a truck shortly before the incident.

That’s just about the funniest thing I have read in years.

As it happens, the Ig Nobels are a relatively new tradition, covered by the Guardian in extensive detail. And, in fact, its founder, Marc Abrahams, has been blogging since last year.

As for the homosexual necrophiliac duck (man, if that’s not a cool search string, I don’t know what is) you can read all about him here. With pictures!