Male elephant seals are killing themselves with sex.
They defend harems of up to 50 females during breeding season and die younger than less randy peers.
Riled up males are also more likely to get severely injured in fights with other males.
And because they stay on land during the breeding season, the five-ton creatures don’t eat for three months. The study found dominant males usually survive up to 10 years and die younger when their harems are bigger.
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Females generally live at least 20 years.
Dr Kyle Lloyd, of Pretoria University in South Africa, said: “These breeding seasons are quite chaotic. The beaches are so busy and the males are working hard.”
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