Close encounters with penguin peckers earn Patrick a PhD

Masturbating a jackass involves lots of pinching, screaming and biting, according to a University of the Western Cape (UWC) graduate.

But Patrick Siyambulela Mafunda said it was all worthwhile, and not only because it helped to earn him a doctorate in medical biosciences.

Mafunda hopes his investigation of the African penguin’s reproductive biology will help to save the endangered species.

"If we don’t come up with good plans to conserve these animals, they’ll be extinct soon," he said. "While there have been a lot of conservation studies done on the species, there haven’t been any on its reproductive biology. We need to understand that if we’re going to help preserve the species."

Penguins are believed to stimulate their genitals against rocks and by sliding on ice, and Mafunda found he could induce ejaculation by massaging their abdomens.

He used birds at the Two Oceans Aquarium and the SA Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, first investigating and describing their testes and ovaries.

Then he studied the quality and physiology of their sperm, including pilot studies on sperm cryopreservation for future insemination — all of which involved collection difficulties as well as long hours in the lab.

Finally, hormonal profiles for the main reproductive steroids were established using monthly blood samples, and Mafunda gathered fresh faecal samples.

"There was so little information available for the African penguin for so long," he said. "It is a great honour for me to say that we have managed to provide such information, which has also opened other areas of further research."

Because African penguins are endangered, ethics clearance was time-consuming, and he also faced a "girlfriend" issue: when male penguins breed they reject human handlers, halting sperm collection.

Campus closures during Fees Must Fall protests also caused Mafunda problems, because semen had to be collected then analysed in a UWC lab on the same day.

"For two years, Fees Must Fall action would occur at the same time as the penguin breeding season, making it very difficult to get my work done," he said.

Mafunda’s research culminated with the development of a cryopreservation technique for African penguins’ sperm.

"That will play a big role in trying to come up with technologies that can assist in the preservation of this bird," he said.

Mafunda, from Matatiele in the Eastern Cape, now hopes to develop an in-vitro fertilisation technique for the species.

"I’ve developed a bond with and an affinity for penguins. I’d love to continue this work."