New research / Homosexual relationships are common in animals but under-recorded

George Murray Levick explorer with the Scott Antarctic Expedition, spent the summer of 1911-12 taking detailed notes on the breeding cycle of Adélie penguins. The male penguins, he was surprised to discover, they often had sex with other males. The event was considered too shocking to be included in the mission’s official report and another 50 years had to pass before being recorded in scientific literature.

Sexual attraction between primates and other mammals of the same sex is widely observed by scientists but rarely published, new research has found. Of 65 researchers studying 52 different species, 77% of scientists had observed sexual behavior among animals of the same sex, but only 48% of them had collected data and just 19% had published their findings, according to the new study.

Penguin natural waterpark 🤽‍♀️ Adelie penguins swimming in a melt pond. pic.twitter.com/N8YXg1MMpA

— Beauty of Nature (@Naturally_earth) May 2, 2024

Anthropologist and lead author of the study Karin Anderson told the Guardian: “This appears to be due to the researchers’ perception that sexual behavior with animals of the same sex is very rare. We found, however, that it is something that is often observed.” Some species, such as penguins and Japanese macaque monkeys, are known for their homosexual relationships, but tend to present as rare cases. The new data, however, shows that matings between animals of the same sex have been observed in many species without this having been previously reported. Such animals are moles, squirrels, coatis and various species of monkeys.

Karin Anderson said “One thing I think we can say with certainty is that same-sex sexual behavior is widespread and natural in the animal kingdom.” Karin Anderson said the perception that same-sex sexual behavior is rare in animals has fueled the narrative that it is “unnatural” in humans. “I think that narrative needs to be corrected.”

Josh Davies, of London’s Natural History Museum and author of A Little Gay Natural History, stated that “In about 1,500 species homosexual behaviors have been observedbut this is certainly an understatement, as such behaviors have been recorded in almost every species of animal such as spiders, squids or monkeys.” “It’s natural to almost all species”, he added. “It’s probably more rare that it’s a purely heterosexual species.”

Professor Paul Vasey, a psychologist at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, has been studying homosexual behavior in Japanese macaques for more than three decades. “I can say with certainty that in some populations, like the one I study, homosexual behavior occurs relatively often,” he said, adding that in many species it is probably less common and difficult to study quantitatively.

The “Darwinian Paradox”

Sexual behavior between individuals of the same sex is considered the Darwinian paradox in the context of the theory of evolution, as it does not have the purpose of reproduction. However, there is increasing evidence that certain sexual behaviors they may have evolutionary advantages. In black swans, male pairs often court each other, steal eggs, raise chicks together, and are more successful in ensuring the survival of these chicks than heterosexual swan pairs.

The data challenge some aspects of Darwinian theory, dhowever, they call into question the basic principles of natural selection. Instead, they highlight the complexity of evolutionary processes and the contribution of many kinds of behavior to overall social dynamics and species survival. Julia Monk, an ecologist at the University of California, Berkeley, said animal behavior can become a lens through which humans try to understand their nature. “I don’t think we should be bound by what animals do or don’t do to set rules for human behavior,” he said. “But I think it’s important to better explore how animals live and ask how much our understanding of the natural world has been limited by our own social imagination.”