Queens of the jungle : Homosexuality in the animal kingdom explained

[kingwilly]

Queens of the jungle

15 February 2012
by Georgia Leaker

Cosmos Online


If humans engage in homosexuality, it's no surprise that other animals do too. But how do you explain the rejection of sexual reproduction in terms of Darwin's theory of evolution?



One of the 'gay' penguins (R) looks at his fellow female penguins from Sweden (from L) in the penguin enclosure at the zoo in Bremerhaven, Germany. The zookeeper's attempt to breed offspring from the endangered species of Humboldt penguins has failed again after female penguins from Sweden were placed in the enclosure.
Credit: AFP/Ingo Wagner


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Buddy and Pedro are in a committed relationship with one another. Late last year these two cute-as-a-button African penguins at Toronto Zoo in Canada were forced apart by zookeepers. This is because Buddy and Pedro are both males and their keepers are desperate for the pair to breed with female penguins because of the species' endangered status.


Outrage ensued, as protesters cried "blatant homophobia" and demanded the penguin couple be reunited. The zoo has said it will reunite them early this year, but only once they successfully mate with the females.


Whether or not they will produce offspring willingly with the females is another matter. Penguins tend to mate for life. In 2004, male pair of chinstrap penguins at New York City Zoo was given an egg to raise and hatch after they appeared to try 'hatching' a rock as if it were an egg. The couple, Roy and Silo, have since successfully raised little Tango as their own, despite later separating.
In 2009, a pair of male Humboldt penguins at Bremerhaven Zoo in Northern Germany resisted mating with females in favour of raising an abandoned egg together. When isolated with females, the males reportedly pined for their mates.
There are many more examples of homosexual pairings between animals, but so far research into it has been scarce. Nearly 500 species of animals (ranging from mammals through to insects) have been observed performing homosexual behaviour, according to Aldo Poiani, a biologist at the University of Melbourne.


In addition to penguins, he says, koalas, flamingos, giraffes, monkeys, killer whales and dolphins are on list. In some cases, the animals commit themselves to a same-sex partner for life (like penguins), although in other species it appears that they have no preference, but rather act 'bisexually'.



In September 2011, scientists led by Hendrik Hoving from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California described a deep-sea squid (Octopoteuthis deletron) that would happily mate with either sex. The media was quick to announce the discovery of a 'gay' squid - although the scientists involved insisted that this wasn't an indication of its sexual preference but rather a survival mechanism. Because it inhabits the darkest depths of the ocean, if it didn't mate with every potential mate that passed him, the species wouldn't survive.
"These squid only reproduce once in their lifetime, so they are under a time constraint. They probably don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out what sex their partner is," says Hoving.


Curiously, not all species exhibit homosexual behaviour of both the male/male and female/female kind. According to a 2006 report co-authored by Geoff McFarlane from Australia's University of Newcastle in New South Wales, a species of small shorebirds called black-faced sheathbills are only interested in female/female (as well as male/female) sexual encounters.



"Homosexual behaviour occurs in over 130 species of birds, yet explaining its maintenance in evolutionary terms appears problematic at face value, as such sexual behaviours do not seem in immediate pursuit of reproductive goals," McFarlane and colleagues wrote in the journal Animal Behaviour in late 2010.


Homosexuality isn't clear-cut across species. In some animals, such as the big horn sheep, if the males do not engage in homosexual sex they are considered outcasts - but the sheep (like other sheep species) also engage in (male/female) polygamy. In others animals, such as the laysan albatross, female/female pairs commit to one another for life - raising chicks they have produced through the aid of males.
"They pair up because instinct tells them to find a mate," says Poiani, who found homosexuality was more frequent when the sex ratio of a laysan albatross colony was off.



Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection suggests that animals, including humans, exist in order to continue their species, or rather, reproduce. It is an evolutionary paradox, says McFarlane, that animals engage in homosexual behaviour when "the prevailing view (is) that sex is for reproduction only", which makes it scientifically significant to explain. According to Darwin's theory, it's a scientific conundrum that evolution hasn't eliminated individuals that are not going to actively reproduce.



According to RV Kirkpatrick, an anthropologist from the University of California, Davis, in the Darwinian view, individuals should seek to maximise reproductive success. "Homosexual behaviour is too widespread to be a fluke or an aberration, but evolutionists in particular should be puzzled by its ubiquity," he wrote in the journal Current Anthropology in 2000.


Some scientists have applied the same logic to explain the occurrence of homosexuality in the animal kingdom. One such theory is that because the percentage of exclusive homosexuality in both the animal and human world is so small, it poses no threat to the continuation of a species.


Poiani favours the idea that homosexuality exists in order to assist parents in raising their offspring more successfully. His research has shown that homosexuality is more prevalent when the mother has had reproductive success with several offspring, thereby spreading the family's genes, and is more likely to occur in the youngest male.



In the case of birds, McFarlane's research found that homosexual behaviour was more frequent in species where parental involvement was lacking. "When you invest less in paternal care, you're more likely to be polygamous. In this context of elevated mating opportunity, homosexual behaviour occurs more frequently and does not necessarily impact reproductive success," he says. "Homosexual behaviour may function in other species to reconcile disputes, prevent conflict or cement social bonds."


Of course, he points out, homosexual sex could just be for no other reason other than simple sexual gratification.


Scientists still have a long way to go on understanding why humans and their fellow animals do the things they do, particularly when it comes to breaking the rules of Darwin's theory of evolution. But for now, it seems that queens rule the jungle.



One of the 'gay' penguins (R) looks at his fellow female penguins from Sweden (from L) in the penguin enclosure at the zoo in Bremerhaven, Germany. The zookeeper's attempt to breed offspring from the endangered species of Humboldt penguins has failed again after female penguins from Sweden were placed in the enclosure.


Queens of the jungle | COSMOS magazine

[Fukwit]

[Butterfly]

gayness is perfectly natural, it's funny how it's hard for many to understand that

[Kurgen]

Fukkin poofs!

Fuck all natural about a fella sticking his cock up another fellas arse.

Two sexy women going at it, now that is natural.

[crocman]

Fukkin poofs!

Fuck all natural about a fella sticking his cock up another fellas arse.

Two sexy women going at it, now that is natural.

How about kicking yer birds backdoor in? Thats alright innit?

[hazz]

lab rats are kept in same sex groups for obvious reasons. The boys do have a reputation for getting very frisky with each other in a kind of gay/bi way

[blue]

''Queens of the jungle''
then a photo of 2 stressed penguins in a zoo ...

Cannibalism is also widespread in the animal kingdom
will the PC crowd be using that as an excuse for human cannibals too ?
thought not ........

Homosexuality is mostly just another birth defect
hopefully it will be screened for in the womb in the near future .

[Kurgen]

Homosexuality can't be genetic, it's not like they breed is it.

How about kicking yer birds backdoor in? Thats alright innit?

Fuck off, she'd kill me!

[crocman]

Homosexuality can't be genetic, it's not like they breed is it.

How about kicking yer birds backdoor in? Thats alright innit?

Fuck off, she'd kill me!

Just tell your not really enjoying it. It just a test to find out if your bent or not.You may have to try it a few times to be sure.

[DJ Pat]

Fukkin poofs!

Fuck all natural about a fella sticking his cock up another fellas arse.

Two sexy women going at it, now that is natural.

How about kicking yer birds backdoor in? Thats alright innit?

Or the cousins back door

[nidhogg]

Of course, he points out, homosexual sex could just be for no other reason other than simple sexual gratification.

Had me laughing out loud. After all the paragraphs on species survival/darwin etc blah blah, it gets rounded out with "or maybe they just like to fuck". LOL.

[kingwilly]

Yeah, seemed a bit incongruous, I suspect it was supposed to be wry humour. .

[Hampsha]

gayness is perfectly natural, it's funny how it's hard for many to understand that

I don't doubt that. Retardation is quite the same. We must treat all humans with fairness and respect.

[Cujo]

This nonsense that homosexuality is natural because it happens in animals is the most warped conclusion ever arrived at.
All the fact that homosexuality occurs in animals proves is that homosexuality is one of the aberrations that occur in animals and humans alike, just like many other birth defects.

[Hampsha]

Exactly. That's why there should be more research into the causes of 'genetic' homosexuality.

[hazz]

To answer the gay, genetics and darwiinism.

Statically gay men tend to have more brothers and sisters than straight men.

Ive never quite nderstude why people have such a probem with gay people. Given that like most people they do the deed in private nad its not like anal sex is a purly gay afair, well as far as porn sales are concened

[Cujo]

Exactly. That's why there should be more research into the causes of 'genetic' homosexuality.

'genetic' homosexuality?

[kingwilly]

It doesn't surprise that a thread on homosexuality draws out a few of the resident homophobes...

[blue]

^
oh i see you, are admiring our bravery ie
despite the fact we have a medical phobia
we manage to overcome this
to post the truth here !
thanks for your support friend !!

[kingwilly]

Erm, no!

[crocman]

Homosexuality is mostly just another birth defect hopefully it will be screened for in the womb in the near future .

Is that you Dr Mengele ?

[Hampsha]

Exactly. That's why there should be more research into the causes of 'genetic' homosexuality.

'genetic' homosexuality?

I mean born gay/lesbian. Some are born gay and others choose to be gay in my view.

[Cujo]

Exactly. That's why there should be more research into the causes of 'genetic' homosexuality.

'genetic' homosexuality?

I mean born gay/lesbian. Some are born gay and others choose to be gay in my view.

Did you choose to be gay? And if not, why not?

[crocman]

my mum made my brother a gay.Next she's going to make me a go kart.

[DJ Pat]

With gayness, I have no qualms with any of it.

I just get bored of them forcibly jumping in our faces in every aspect of the media with the fact that they are gay...adopting kids is a tad too far....