What are some examples of Homosexuality in other species of animal?

Hello psychopoet~

First, it?s important to note that there?s some debate among experts
as to whether animals display homosexual behavior. It?s undoubtedly
true that some animals attempt to have sex or foreplay with animals of
their own sex, but it?s impossible to known exactly why. Some experts
insist it?s merely a matter of mistaking one sex for the other.
Therefore, I will put the word ?homosexual? in quotes :)

Here are the most commonly cited examples:

* It is said that *all* bonobo apes engage in bi-sexual behavior. (See
Wikipedia article ?Bonobo:? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonobo

* Some penguins are known to try to mate male-to-male. (See CNS
?They?re in love. They?re Gay. And their Penguins:?
http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2002-06-10/591.asp ) In
fact, such behavior is known to exist among many types of birds. For
example, it?s estimated that about 1 percent of ostriches engage in
?homosexual behavior.?

* Sheep have been known to display ?homosexual behavior.? (See
Endocrinology, ?The Volume of a Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus in the
Ovine Medial Preoptic Area/Anterior Hypothalamus Varies with Sexual
Partner Preference:?
http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/145/2/478 )

* Female cows are known to mount each other. (See Science News Online
?Animals? Fancies:? http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc97/1_4_97/bob1.htm
)

* Foxes sometimes engage in "incestuous homosexuality.? (See  Ivory
Tower, ?THE FABULOUS KINGDOM OF GAY ANIMALS:?
http://www.salon.com/it/feature/1999/03/cov_15featurea2.html )

* Some monkeys have been known to have same-sex relations. (See
?Animals prefer Homosexuality to Evolutionism:"
http://www.subversions.com/french/pages/science/animals.html )


This information then tends to lead to the idea that if
?homosexuality? is ?normal? among animals, it is ?normal? among
humans. But there are animals who eat their young, kill their mates,
commit incest, etc. Could someone point to these behaviors and say
that if they are "normal" among animals, they must be normal among
humans, too? According to my research, to the scientific mind,
?homosexual behavior? among animals only shows that this sort of
behavior-?to one degree or another?-may be common (or uncommon) among
certain critters.

Regards,
Kriswrite 

KEYWORDS USED:
animals homosexual
://www.google.com/search?q=animals+homosexual&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=0&sa=N

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Request for Answer Clarification by psychopoet-ga on 22 Jul 2004 21:19 PDT

Some of these descriptions of "homosexual behavior" seem a little
veage.  Could you quote some spacific observations.  Also, what are
the opions of the leading experts in the field?

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Clarification of Answer by kriswrite-ga on 23 Jul 2004 15:03 PDT

Hi psychopoet~

Happy to clarify, but do be sure to read the links in the original
post, as they provide lots of enlightening details :)

Bonobos: Engage in tongue-kissing, oral sex, genital rubbing between
females, and "penis-fencing" between males.  You might find this
addition article interesting: ?Bonobo Sex & Society?
http://songweaver.com/info/bonobos.html

Penguins: At the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn, two male
penguins have remained ?devoted? to each other, not mating with anyone
else, for 8 years. At Central Park Zoo, two male penguins have been
together for four years, even foster-parenting an egg together one
season. In 1997, the park had four pairs of penguins trying to mate
with their own sex; trying to increase fertility, the zookeepers tried
to separate them and pair them with opposite sex partners. This
attempt failed

Sheep: About 8% of rams have a preferences for other (male) rams. In
this case, scientists say such ram have two times more ovine sexually
dimorphic nucleus (oSDN) than your average sheep.

Female Cows: Known to mount each other, similar to the way male dogs
sometimes mount each other.

Fox: Known to sometimes engage in sex with members of their own family
of the same sex.

Monkeys: Some monkeys have been observed copulating with members of
the same sex. For a faily in-depth look at this, see the link
originally mentioned: ?Animals prefer Homosexuality to Evolutionism"
http://www.subversions.com/french/pages/science/animals.html


Scientist's views have already been mentioned a little bit, but
suffice it to say, there is controversy here. It's entirely possible
that some animals are just confused about the gender of their chosen
mates, but this seems incredulous when applied to animals of higher
intelligence (like apes).

There is also some question about animals having sex just for the fun
of it; do animals do that? There?s no way for us really to know.
Again, this might seem more plausible among critters of greater
intelligence.

Some experts think animals engage in ?homosexual activities? in order
to  associate with dominant members of the clan?and therefore boost
raise their own social standing.

In some cases, as with sea gulls, it has been noted that when the
population of the bird dwindled, females are more likely to have sex
with males, but then shack up with another female, going through
courting rituals with her and caring for the eggs and babies.

For a good look at scientific ideas about animals and ?homosexual?
behavior, check out ?Animals? Fancies:?
http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc97/1_4_97/bob1.htm

Regards,
Kriswrite

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Request for Answer Clarification by psychopoet-ga on 16 Aug 2004 17:23 PDT

When was homosexuality first studied in Humans?

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Clarification of Answer by kriswrite-ga on 17 Aug 2004 05:35 PDT

Hi psychopoet~

This is really a very different question from your original one and
should be posted separately.

Regards,
Kriswrite

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Request for Answer Clarification by psychopoet-ga on 17 Aug 2004 12:03 PDT

But we are very closely related to Chimps, so can't the question be
considered interrelated?

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Clarification of Answer by kriswrite-ga on 17 Aug 2004 13:14 PDT

I'm sorry psychopoet, but it really is a new and different question.

Kriswrite

Answered my question but could have gone into a little more deapth

Psychopoet,

The new question is "related" to the original question, but that
doesn't mean that it can be answered instantly, without further time
and labor being expended. This is just my personal view of the matter,
but it doesn't seem proper to expect a Researcher to do additional
work for free, particularly after you've already given a mediocre
rating.

~Pink

I wouldn't call my rating "mediocre"  I'd call it adiquate, because he
answered the question, but he did not go above and beyond the call of
duty.  I feel I shouldn't have to pay 200 dollars for a through,
complete answer.  It is natural for reasearchers to more money for
more time, however, I have seen  countless questions (some of which
have written by you Pink) in which the amount of money did not seem to
matter in how the question was answered.

Since I've joined GA, I've been exparmenting with list prices.  I
guess you could say I try to milk each question for as much info as
possible.  I'm not trying to disresespect anyone.  Google Answers is
an exparament.  All I'm doing is testing the system

BTW,  It pisses me off when people don't tip

Psychopoet,

You're a college student, right? The situation here is similar to the following:

You write a term paper. 

The professor grades your paper, and gives you a C. 

A few weeks later, out of the blue, the professor asks you to write
more material on a related subject. Your grade will be unchanged,
regardless of whether you do or do not comply with the professor's
request. You are busy, and have many other projects to work on. Would
you devote extra time and effort under these circumstances? I suspect
that most people wouldn't.

Please consider that, although Google Answers may be "an experiment"
for you, it is a sole source of income for some of us. We try to give
our customers their money's worth, and we hope that everyone can
understand that you get what you pay for, and maybe sometimes a little
extra. To expect the same depth of service regardless of the
question's price just isn't reasonable.

~Pink

Pink,

The price of the question doesn't seem to matter to you?