Homosexuality in the Animal Kingdom
September 28, 2022 2022-09-30 12:14Homosexuality in the Animal Kingdom
Being Gay is Natural
It is a given that all animals’ primary goals are to compete, reproduce and raise their offspring for survival. But the heterosexual monotony of nature is far less black and white than commonly assumed. Homosexuality resides beyond humans and has existed in the animal kingdom for years, painting its residents in a rainbow of diversity.
Researchers have studied animals indulging in queer behavior for centuries. One such entomologist, Henri Gadeau de Kerville, published the first scientific illustration of homosexual animals in 1896 that details two male scarab beetles during mating season. Since the discovery, 450 varying animal species were recorded engaging in the same practice. Most accounts are in those that travel in groups, such as elephants, bison, bottlenose dolphins, sheep, and albatrosses.
At the top of the food chain, male and female lions can be found in loving relationships with the same gender. And ranking higher in numbers of queer partnerships between primates are the great apes, with bonobos engaging most in sapphic activity. As shown, the diversity in the animal kingdom challenges the heteronormative perception of opposite-sex relationships reigning supreme. Varying species enjoy the company of their same-sex lover and possess the capability to express that adoration for one another as straights do.
Sharing that philosophy is male giraffes, which tend to rub their necks along each other’s bodies for a considerable time. Additionally, gay penguin couples often take custody of an egg and raise the chick, similar to how humans foster and adopt children. Homosexual animals have proven to be just as competent in parenthood as heterosexual couples. They are also just as passionate and heartfelt.
However, while scientists have proven that species can flourish in their homosexuality, the question of why it exists has puzzled them for centuries. After all, evolution relies on the reproduction between opposite sexes. Based on evolutionary efficiency, homosexuality appears counterproductive and illogical. Although there is no clear answer, researchers figure there is more practicality to their nature than at first glance.
Kurt Kotrschal, a behavioral biologist at the University of Vienna, questions if homosexuality is preserved to stabilize natural selection or is an unavoidable product of brain development. Theories explaining its conception are still in the gray area, but studies have shown how the instincts that come with same-sex attraction are valuable to survival.
The late zoologist Konrad Lorenz had been familiar with the study of homosexual greylag geese for years when noting in 1963 how pairs of partnered males frequently attained social superiority in goose colonies. In turn, their dominance would attract lone females until copulation, after which the male would return to his original lover. In that light, queer partners might serve to promote reproduction.
Homosexuality resides deep within the ecosystem as a natural part of life that has always been. Opposite to humans, animals do not have a sense of gender identity. Their world is simple yet loving in all its varieties. While the debate on the biology of homosexuality lingers, their existence is no less valid than their straight peers.
