List of mammals displaying homosexual behavior
For these mammals, there is documented evidence of homosexual behavior of one or more of the following kinds: sexual behavior, courtship, affection, pair bonding, or parenting.
Bruce Bagemihl writes that the presence of same-sex sexual behavior was not officially observed on a large scale until the 1990s due to possible observer bias caused by social attitudes towards LGBT people making homosexuality in animals a taboo subject.[3][4] He devotes three chapters; Two Hundred Years at Looking at Homosexual Wildlife, Explaining (Away) Animal Homosexuality and Not For Breeding Only in his 1999 book Biological Exuberance to the "documentation of systematic prejudices" where he notes "the present ignorance of biology lies precisely in its single-minded attempt to find reproductive (or other) "explanations" for homosexuality, transgender, and non-procreative and alternative heterosexualities.[5] Petter Bøckman, academic adviser for the Against Nature? exhibit stated "[M]any researchers have described homosexuality as something altogether different from sex. They must realise that animals can have sex with who they will, when they will and without consideration to a researcher's ethical principles". Homosexual behavior is found amongst social birds and mammals, particularly the sea mammals and the primates.[4]
Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species and the motivations for and implications of their behaviors have yet to be fully understood. Bagemihl's research shows that homosexual behavior, not necessarily sexual activity, has been documented in about 500 species as of 1999, ranging from primates to gut worms.[3][6] Homosexuality in animals is controversial with some social conservatives because it asserts the naturalness of homosexuality in humans, while others counter that it has no implications and is nonsensical to equate animal behavior to morality.[7][8] On the other hand, social liberals and many gay people believe homosexuality is natural, and therefore find the existence of homosexual sex in animals unsurprising. Animal preference and motivation is always inferred from behavior. Thus homosexual behavior has been given a number of terms over the years. The correct usage of the term homosexual is that an animal exhibits homosexual behavior, however this article conforms to the usage by modern research[9][10][11][12] applying the term homosexuality to all sexual behavior (copulation, genital stimulation, mating games and sexual display behavior) between animals of the same sex.
This list is part of a larger list of animals displaying homosexual behavior including birds, insects, fish etc.
Selected images
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![Male bonnet macaques, similar to the youthful ones pictured, "give each other hand-jobs and sometimes eat the resulting semen"[1] although using "hand-job" can be seen as overly anthropomorphic.[13]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Macaques_%C3%A0_bonnet_petits.jpg/120px-Macaques_%C3%A0_bonnet_petits.jpg)
Male bonnet macaques, similar to the youthful ones pictured, "give each other hand-jobs and sometimes eat the resulting semen"[1] although using "hand-job" can be seen as overly anthropomorphic.[13] -
![Ugandan kob - "Female kob perform oral sex on each other and even stroke each other's vulvas with their forelegs. They may exhibit urolagnia during sex, one female will urinate while the other sticks her nose in the stream."[1][14]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Uganda-Kob.jpg/120px-Uganda-Kob.jpg)
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!["Elevated levels of testosterone in utero"[15] increases aggressiveness and both male and female spotted hyenas mount submissive same-sex members who likely have lower levels of testosterone from their mothers.[16][17][18]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Spotted_hyena2.jpg/120px-Spotted_hyena2.jpg)
"Elevated levels of testosterone in utero"[15] increases aggressiveness and both male and female spotted hyenas mount submissive same-sex members who likely have lower levels of testosterone from their mothers.[16][17][18] -
![In "slip-and-slide" orgies, groups of male grey whales, one of the oldest species of mammals, roll in the ocean rubbing their bellies against each other so that their genitals are touching.[19][20]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Graywhale_MMC.jpg/120px-Graywhale_MMC.jpg)
![Male bonnet macaques, similar to the youthful ones pictured, "give each other hand-jobs and sometimes eat the resulting semen"[1] although using "hand-job" can be seen as overly anthropomorphic.[13]](/wiki/File:Macaques_%C3%A0_bonnet_petits.jpg)
![Ugandan kob - "Female kob perform oral sex on each other and even stroke each other's vulvas with their forelegs. They may exhibit urolagnia during sex, one female will urinate while the other sticks her nose in the stream."[1][14]](/wiki/File:Uganda-Kob.jpg)
!["Elevated levels of testosterone in utero"[15] increases aggressiveness and both male and female spotted hyenas mount submissive same-sex members who likely have lower levels of testosterone from their mothers.[16][17][18]](/wiki/File:Spotted_hyena2.jpg)
![In "slip-and-slide" orgies, groups of male grey whales, one of the oldest species of mammals, roll in the ocean rubbing their bellies against each other so that their genitals are touching.[19][20]](/wiki/File:Graywhale_MMC.jpg)
List
See also
- Homosexual behavior in animals#Mammals
- Animal sexual behavior#Mammals
- List of birds displaying homosexual behavior
References
- ^ a b c Kick (2001)
- ^ Imaginova (2007f)
- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999)
- ^ a b c News-medical.net (2006)
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 213
- ^ Harrold (1999)
- ^ Solimeo (2004)
- ^ Solimeo (2004b)
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 122-166
- ^ Roughgarden (2004) pp.13-183
- ^ Vasey (1995) pages 173-204
- ^ Sommer & Vasey (2006)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bagemihl (1999) page 316
- ^ a b Imaginova (2007e)
- ^ a b Forger (6 December 1998), Volume 375, Issue 2 , Pages 333 – 343
- ^ Forger (1998)
- ^ Holekamp (2003)
- ^ a b Wilson (Sexing the Hyena)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Bagemihl (1999) page 339
- ^ a b Imaginova (2007h)
- ^ a b c d Bagemihl (1999) page 413
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 427
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Bagemihl (1999) page 449
- ^ Imaginova (2007b)
- ^ a b c d e Bagemihl (1999) page 391
- ^ a b c Bagemihl (1999) page 432
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- ^ a b c d e f g h Bagemihl (1999) page 367
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bagemihl (1999) page 378
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bagemihl (1999) page 405
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- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999) page 475
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- ^ a b c d Bagemihl (1999) page 471
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- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999) pages 458–460
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- ^ a b c Bagemihl (1999) pages 324–330
- ^ Imaginova (2007d)
- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999) pages 299–301
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 280–284
- ^ a b c Bagemihl (1999) pages 461–464
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 231, 436–440
- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999) pages 293–298
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 347
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 412
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 465-466
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 81, 165, 205, 226, 231
- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999) page 386
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 430
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 422-425
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 455-457
- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999) page 397-401
- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999) page 336-338
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 302–305.
- ^ Cooper
- ^ Eaton (1974)
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- ^ Imaginova (2007)
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- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 109, 469
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 387–390
- ^ a b c Bagemihl (1999) pages 418–421
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 663, 693, 714
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 410–413
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 472
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 465–466
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 284–288
- ^ a b c d Bagemihl (1999) page 328
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 81, 82, 225–226, 232–240
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 418-421
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 394–396
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 397–401
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 451
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 81
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 440
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 437–441
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 453–455
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 364–365
- ^ Roselli (2004), Vol. 145, No. 2, pages 478–483
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 289–292
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 330–335
- ^ a b Bagemihl (1999) page 459
- ^ a b Poiani (2010) page 50
- ^ Jiang, T., Li, J., Sheeran, L. K., Zhu, Y., Sun, B., Xia, D., & Wang, X. (2013). "Homosexual mounting in wild male Tibetan Macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Huangshan, China" (PDF). Life Science Journal. 10 (1).
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Sommer (2006)
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 340
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 405–409
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 366–368
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 425–426
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 370–374
- ^ Imaginova (2007g)
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 231
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pagepage 421
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 397–400
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 374–377
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) pages 288–290
- ^ Bagemihl (1999) page 424