Can animals be gay? Pengus, flamgos and whal thk so | Environment | The Guardian

Contents:

• CAN ANIMALS BE GAY? PENGUS, FLAMGOS AND WHAL THK SO
• GAY FLAMGO UPLE BREAK UP DURG PRI MONTH AND MAYBE LOVE ISN’T REAL AFTER ALL
• GAY FLAMGOS BREAK UP DURG PRI MONTH AND MAYBE LOVE ISN’T REAL AFTER ALL

CAN ANIMALS BE GAY? PENGUS, FLAMGOS AND WHAL THK SO

In the idyllic settg of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Tst Slimbridge, 325 hectar of Glouctershire wetland alive wh water vol and dragonfli and the world's largt llectn of swans, gee, and ducks, live a pair of gay flamgos named Carlos and Fernando. This week, the pair were given the rponsibily of raisg a newly hatched flamgo that has been rejected by s qutn of whether animals n be homosexual has been extensively explored. In 1999, Blogil Exuberance: Animal Homosexualy and Natural Diversy, the rult of 10 years of rearch by Bce Bagemihl, documented many s of homosexual behavur animals.

Last year, an exhibn at the Universy of Oslo's Natural History Mm showed 51 exampl of animals displayg homosexual behavur - om female bonobos that b their genals together to male killer whal ridg the dorsal fs of other the avian world, nearly a quarter of black swan fai are parented by homosexual upl, the mal sometim matg wh a female simply to have a chick. Homosexualy flamgos is also relatively mon. In the se of Carlos and Fernando, both assume the male rol durg the urtship rual - preeng, stttg and wavg their heads vigoroly om si to are other famo gay animal pairgs.

GAY FLAMGO UPLE BREAK UP DURG PRI MONTH AND MAYBE LOVE ISN’T REAL AFTER ALL

Central Park zoo Manhattan had a famo pair of gay chstrap pengus named Roy and Silo, who were separable for more than six years. Songwrer Cole, who first h big the 1920s, wouldn't risk paradg his homosexualy public. Zoologists are disverg that homosexual and bisexual activy is not unknown wh the animal and Silo, two male chstrap pengus at New York's Central Park Zoo have been separable for six years now.

Filmmakers recently went search of homosexual wild animals as part of a Natnal Geographic Ultimate Explorer documentary about the female's role the matg game. "The homosexual behavr that go on is pletely bafflg and trigug, " says Natnal Geographic Ultimate Explorer rrponnt, Mireya Mayor.

"Well, perhaps, a roundabout way, they are seekg mal, suggts primatologist Amy argu that female maqu may enhance their social posn through homosexual timacy which turn fluenc breedg succs. He believ bonobos e sex to rolve nflicts between animals appear to go through a homosexual phase before they bee fully mature.

GAY FLAMGOS BREAK UP DURG PRI MONTH AND MAYBE LOVE ISN’T REAL AFTER ALL

The fact that homosexualy do, after all, exist the natural world is bound to be ed agast people who sist such behavr is the U. Many on the relig right regard homosexualy as a s. And only this month, Print Bh vowed to ntue his bid to ban gay marriag after the Senate blocked the proposal.

Already, s of animal homosexualy have been ced succsful urt s brought agast stat like Texas, where gay sex was, until recently, scientists say we should be wary of referrg to animals when nsirg what's acceptable human society. For stance, fantici, as practiced by lns and many other animals, isn't somethg people, gay or straight, generally approve of HomosexualySo how far n we go g animals to help unrstand human homosexualy? "The bottom le is that anythg that happens other primat, and particularly other ap, is likely to have strong evolutnary ntuy wh what happens humans, " he says the bonobo's e of homosexual activy for social bondg is a possible example, addg, "One of the ma arguments for human homosexual behavr is that helps bond male groups together, particularly where a group of dividuals are pennt on each other, as they might be huntg or warfare.

"For stance, the Spartans, ancient Greece, enuraged homosexualy among their ele troops. Another suggtn is that homosexualy is a velopmental phase people go through. "But he adds that homosexualy don't necsarily have to have a functn.