Primates: same-sex behaviour boosts survival

It's not new information that lots of animals are into a bit of guy-on-guy action, but new research is giving us some insights into why same-sex sexual encounters may be more than just a bit of horny fun.

In a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Professor Vincent Savolainen from Imperial College London presents the theory that same-sex sexual behaviour among non-human primates may arise as a way to reinforce bonds and keep societies together in the face of environmental or social challenges.

For their research, Savolainen and his colleagues analysed accounts of same-sex sexual behaviour in non-human primates, finding it to be widespread in most major groups, with reports in 59 species including chimpanzees, Barbary macaques and mountain gorillas.

They concluded that the drive to engage in same-sex sexual behaviour either had an evolutionary origin far back in the primate family tree, or that the behaviour had evolved independently multiple times.

Savolainen's research highlighted that observation of same-sex sexual behaviour in primates is more common in environments where resources are scarce and where there are greater risks from predators. The behaviour was also more common in species with complex social systems and hierarchies.

According to the researchers, this indicates that same-sex sexual behaviour increases bonding, decreases tension and aggression, and helps the tribe or community navigate the challenges that they're facing.

How does this translate to what we know about human sexuality? While parallels can clearly be drawn, the researchers made clear that there are additional complexities that make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about human sexuality as a result of this research.

Which are the gayest animals?

Same-sex sexual behaviour has been observed in more than 1,500 animal species.

Here are some of the gayest.

Penguins

It’s quite common for penguins to form same-sex couples, both in the wild and in captivity. Roy and Silo of New York City’s Central Park Zoo are among the most famous gay penguins – the Chinstrap Penguins successfully hatched an egg in 1999, their chick was called Tango.

It’s relatively common for zoos around the world to report same-sex penguin couples getting together during breeding season.

Giraffes

Male giraffes often display at lot of intimate affection towards each other. Researchers have observed same-sex necking, licking, nuzzling and mounting between male giraffes, as well as genital stimulation.

As a species, giraffes don’t form couples of any kind. Adult females live together in herds, and only mate with the transient males who manage to be dominant enough, or surreptitious enough, to visit them at the right time.

Humpback Whales

Same-sex encounters have previously been observed in orca and dolphins, but it's only recently that Humpback Whales have been confirmed to have been getting in on the action.

Documented off the coast of Hawaii and written up in a recent scientific journal, the encounter was observed in January 2022. Two whales - both confirmed to be male - approached the boat of the researchers, circled, and then began to engage in sexual activity while just a few metres below the boat. They were close enough to get pretty clear photos of everything.

Seahorses

Seahorses are fairly incredible creatures.

Pygmy Seahorses are particularly special as it is the male who carries the fertilised eggs and gives birth to their offspring.

Pygmy Seahorses live on gorgonian seafans – camouflaging themselves by matching their colour and texture to the coral on which they live.

Flamingos

Flamingos in a male same-sex couple have been observed co-parenting an orphaned egg, hatching a chick, and raising the chick together.

It was recently reported that a pair of male flamingos in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park became parents of a chick hatched from an orphaned egg. The parents are both male birds in their 40s.

In the wild, flamingos are found in sub-Saharan Africa and western India.

Homophobia has led to under-reporting of gay sex in animal kingdom

While same-sex sexual behaviour has been documented in a range of different species, new research suggests that scientists have been vastly under-reporting just how queer things actually get in the animal kingdom.

A survey of animal scientists found that they widely observe, yet seldom publish about, same-sex sexual behaviour in a wide range of species.

The research team - led by Karyn Anderson of the University of Toronto - interviewed 65 researchers working on 52 different species. The survey results showed that 77% of researchers had observed same-sex sexual behaviour - such as mounting or genital stimulation - but only 48% had collected data on this behaviour and just 19% had published their findings.

“This appears to be due to a perception of researchers that same-sex sexual behaviour is very rare..." explained Anderson. "We found, however, that it was commonly observed by our survey participants.”

So, while we hear occasional reports about gay penguins or humpback whales having gay sex, it's reported as something unusual and unexpected. The analysis of the research team suggests that not only is not unusual behaviour, they've uncovered unpublished observations of gay sex in many species that had previously not been known to have exhibited same-sex sexual stimulation.

“One thing I think we can say for certain is that same-sex sexual behaviour is widespread and natural in the animal kingdom...” said Anderson.

What we now know is that same-sex sexual stimulation has been observed and documented in almost every branch of the evolutionary tree - spiders, squids, monkeys, you name it, they're all gay as fuck. Scientists are now speculating that it's probably unlikely that you could identify a species that doesn't explore same-sex sexual stimulation.

This is important because the perception that same-sex sexual behaviour was rare in animals had fed into a narrative that it was somehow “unnatural” in humans.

While we shouldn't anthropomorphise animals or over-simplify comparisons between human behaviour and animal behaviour, any suggestion that gay sex is somehow "unnatural" has been well and truly blown out of the water.