I quoll are little-known animals native to theAustralia and of New Guineafrom the same family as the most famous Tasmanian Devil. A research conducted by the Australian University of Sunshine Coastpublished in the scientific journal Royal Society Open Science, has revealed a lethal “vice” for male specimens: in practice, they do not sleep to have sex. Their organism could make them live longer, but giving up rest to mate in the mating season he leads them, exhausted, to the inevitable premature death.
The female specimens of quolls
they live about four years, while males hardly reach the first year of life. In fact, they record an incredible
testosterone peak in Julywhich leads them to mate continuously until they die.
Irrepressible instinct The instinct to reproduce is at least as primary as the food instinct in the animal kingdom. In this truth can be found the primary motivation for the extreme “self-harm” of male quolls. In the case of these small marsupials, however, what is a natural survival strategy is turning into the exact opposite, bringing the species to risk of extinction. “Quolls travel great distances to mate as much as possible, and their will appears to be so strong that they give up sleep to spend more time searching for females,” said researcher Christofer J. Clemente. “Something is definitely derailing their health after just one season and we think it’s actually related to sleep deprivation.”
Lack of sleep The lethal lack of sleep has been observed by scientists only in male specimens, further confirming the research thesis. A deprivation that also induces the loss of body weight, an increase in aggression and a decidedly less prudent attitude in response to even fatal dangers. The general condition of these animals is also worsening in terms of disease: “We have observed a significant increase in parasites in males, probably because they spend less time cleaning themselves”.
