One way to determine if an animal (not including humans) is engaging in
"normal behavior" is consider if this activity is contributing to the
individuals survival or reproductive success. One may surmise that
copulating with a dead conspicific is not contribute one's fitness.
However, individuals that are strongly motivated to copulate (even it
occasionally means wasting sperm on inappropriate targets, or increasing
one's exposure to predators, etc.) may in the long run leave more offspring
than an individual with a low libido. Consequently, if there is a
heritable component to this behavior, it could spread in a population. So,
guillemotophilia may be "normal' after all.

fred sharpe

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Behavioral Ecology Research Group
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby BC V5A 1S6 Canada
phone: (604) 291-4374 Lab
291-5864 Office
fax: (604) 291-3496
email: fsharpe at sfu.ca

Alaska Whale Foundation
4505 University Way NE #438
Seattle WA 98105
Alaska BC Whale Foundation webpage:
http://www.biol.sfu.ca/berg/whale/abcwhale.html