Do Animals Masturbate Too?

Do animals masturbate? Although research on the topic has long been scarce, there is evidence of this behavior in animals.

By Sofia Quaglia
Dec 18, 2023 4:00 PM
The bonobo is an endangered great ape. It is one of the two species making up the genus Pan (Pan troglodytes)
(Credit: yebemoto/Shutterstock)

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While it might seem like masturbation would be a self-absorbed human endeavor, it’s actually widespread among the whole animal kingdom. We didn’t invent it, and it likely has roots deep into our evolutionary pasts.

And although auto-eroticism has long been taboo, there’s a whole slew of fascinating and intriguing case studies of animal masturbation and their origin stories.

How Do Animals Masturbate?

Many creatures across the animal kingdom don’t even have hands and digits to masturbate with, but it hasn’t stopped them from becoming enterprising and resourceful onanists with a paw, a foot, a flipper, a tail, or a mouth. There are examples of animals masturbating before sex, after sex, and sometimes even instead of sex.


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