Brown trout and deceitful orgasms

Is faking an orgasm only a human trait? Well, it seems, it transcends species! Being deceitful about orgasms is not uncommon among human beings but some specific species have mastered the art of faking their way out. Surprised? Take for instance the female brown trout.

During the mating season, male trouts flock to court the females. Did you know this involves an elaborate display of quivering muscles, fighting and chasing away the other males to earn the lady’s love?

The female patiently absorbs all the attention and when a winner emerges from the fight, she slowly dives down to the bottom of the river and digs out a small portion of the bed as if she is ready to lay her eggs. This involves vigorous movements from the female suggesting she is ready to lay her eggs. The winner of the male display assumes that the female is ready and rushes down to fertilise the eggs and releases his sperm. But the female does not release her eggs!

Though this looks silly, the faking of the whole act is interesting as the female saves her eggs and not waste on a male she is not interested in.

Researchers Erik Petersson and Torbjörn Järvi studied this unique behaviour in collaboration with the Department of Zoology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University. After observing over 117 pairings, they calculated over 69 faked orgasms. If you are wondering what would make the female trout choose to release her eggs, it was the males with bigger fins and jaws or the most eligible bachelor!

So, certainly, it pays to be bigger, in the world of trout, that is!






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