Animal gay terms
Geese are monogamous animals. They spend their lives with a single mate and only look for another if the first one dies. The biologist Kurt Kotrschal , following on from the studies of Konrad Lorenz, has devoted many years to studying these animals. His research supports the idea that homosexuality is useful for the species.
In , Lorenz stated that male mates are more likely to occupy a higher level within geese colonies. This allows them to fertilise solitary females, while continuing with their same sex partners. This is one of the theories that reports the evolutionary advantage of homosexuality, but it is not the only one. These studies explore the idea of homosexual behaviour as an evolutionary response to environmental changes. The environment is what determines these changes, driving species to change their sexual and affective behaviours.
In the case of American bison , polecats or elephants , both males and females have been observed courting and mating with others the same sex. In the case of giraffes , 9 out of 10 couplings occur between males. As for birds, all species that form parental relationships do so, to a greater or lesser extent, with members of the same sex. As many as a quarter of black swans are homosexual.
List of animals displaying homosexual behavior
Penguins have even struck up same-sex relationships in zoos in different parts of the world. It is interesting to note how the strong rejection of homosexuality by most societies throughout history has disadvantaged the emergence of a very different reality. A reality in which relationships between individuals of the same sex occur in all species and are part of their evolutionary development.
In most cases, studies on this subject were avoided for fear of rejection by the scientific community and the wider social context marked by machismo and homophobia. Even today, it remains a taboo subject in many parts of the world where homosexuality is forbidden or even punishable by death. A creative animal atlas.
Lots of fun for everyone interested in animals and anyone who wants to join the movement to help protect them. Bring a taste of the wild home with you, as each animal presents their own unique character in this rather amusing collection of Zoo Portrait cushions. Printed on Heavyweight gsm matt fine art stock. Perfect as a gift or statement for your wall, whether they adorn the home or office they are sure to get people giggling! Next time you need to send your wishes to a loved one, you can do it with a Zoo Portrait animal!
This fun and colourful gift wrap design from Zoo Portraits with a Lot of animals. Which one are you? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Leave this field empty. Art Blog Play! Contact us. Zoo Portraits. Home Animal Facts. Index 1 Scientific studies and references 2 Gay geese and evolutionary theory 3 Other animals with homosexual behaviour 4 The social taboo against science.
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Which gay animal tribe do you belong to?
Now with color backgrounds! View image of Red flour beetles Tribolium castaneum Credit: In some cases, there is a fairly straightforward evolutionary reason why animals engage in homosexual behaviour.
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Take male fruit flies. In their first 30 minutes of life, they will try to copulate with any other fly, male or female. After a while, they learn to recognise the smell of virgin females, and focus on them. This trial-and-error approach may look rather inefficient, but actually it is a good strategy, says David Featherstone of the University of Illinois at Chicago, US.
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In the wild, flies in different habitats may have slightly different pheromone blends. Male flour beetles use a distinctly sneaky trick. They often mount each other, and go so far as depositing sperm. If the male carrying this sperm mates with a female later, the sperm might get transferred — so the male who produced it has fertilised a female without having to court her. In both cases, the males are using homosexual behaviour as a roundabout way to fertilise more females.
So it's clear how these behaviours could be favoured by evolution. But it's also clear that fruit flies and flour beetles are a long way from strictly homosexual. View image of Laysan albatrosses normally mate for life Credit: Other animals really do seem to be lifelong homosexuals. One such species is the Laysan albatross , which nests in Hawaii, US.
Among these huge birds, pairs are usually "married" for life. It takes two parents working together to rear a chick successfully, and doing so repeatedly means that the parents can hone their skills together. What's more, they rear chicks, fathered by males that are already in a committed pair but which sneak matings with one or both of the females. Like male-female pairs, these female-female pairs can only rear one chick in a season. The female-female pairs are not as good at rearing chicks as female-male pairs, but are better than females that go it alone.
If she did not, she might manage to mate but would struggle to incubate her egg and find food. And once a female forms a pair-bond, the species' tendency towards monogamy means it becomes life-long. There is even a subtle advantage for the females. The system means that they can get their eggs fertilised by the fittest male of the group , and pass his desirable traits on to her offspring, even if he is already paired with another female.
But once again, the female albatrosses are not inherently homosexual. The Oahu population has a surplus of females as a result of immigration, so some females cannot find males to pair with.
Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate
Studies of other birds suggest that same-sex coupling is a response to a shortage of males , and is much rarer if the sex ratio is equal. In other words, the female Laysan albatrosses probably wouldn't choose to pair with other females if there were enough males to go round. View image of Bonobos Pan paniscus have sex all the time Credit: So perhaps we've been looking in the wrong place for examples of homosexual animals. Given that human beings are known to be homosexual, maybe we should look at our closest relatives, the apes.
Bonobos are often described as our "over-sexed" relatives. They engage in an enormous amount of sex, so much so that it's often referred to as a "bonobo handshake", and that includes homosexual behaviour among both males and females. Writing in Scientific American in , he described pairs of female bonobos rubbing their genitals together, and " emitting grins and squeals that probably reflect orgasmic experiences ".
But bonobo sex also plays a deeper role: Junior bonobos may use sex to bond with more dominant group members, allowing them to climb the social ladder. Males that have had a fight sometimes perform genital-to-genital touching, known as "penis fencing", as a way of reducing tension. More rarely, they also kiss, perform fellatio and massage each other's genitals.
Even the young comfort each other with hugs and sex.