Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity

While most scientific studies of homosexuality in animals have simply involved careful and systematic observation and recording of behavioral patterns (occasionallysupplemented by photographic documentation), in some cases more elaborate measures have been employed. The study of animal behavior has now become extremely sophisticated and even “high-tech,” and many of these techniques have been applied with great effect to the recording, analysis, and interpretation of same-sex activities and their social context. DNA testing, for example, has been employed to ascertain the parentage of eggs belonging to lesbian pairs of Snow Geese, to determine the genetic relatedness of female Oystercatchers and Bonobos who engage in same-sex activity, to verify the sex of Roseate Terns (some of whom form homosexual pairs), and to investigate the genetic determinants of mating behavior in different categories of male Ruffs. The extent and characteristics of homosexual pair-bonding in Silver Gulls and Bottlenose Dolphins have been revealed by long-term demographic studies that identified and marked large numbers of individuals, who were then monitored over extended periods. Because most sexual activity in Red Foxes takes place at night, investigators only discovered same-sex mounting in this species by setting up infrared, remote-control video cameras that automatically recorded the animals’ nocturnal activities (night photography was also required to document similar activity in wild Spotted Hyenas). Radio tracking (biotelemetry) of individual Grizzlies revealed the activities of bonded female pairs, while similar techniques applied to Red Foxes yielded information about their dispersal patterns and overall social organization that relate to the occurrence of same-sex mounting. Videography, including “frame-by-frame” analysis of taped behavioral sequences, has been utilized in the study of courtship interactions in Griffon Vultures and Victoria’s Riflebirds, as well as of communicative interactions during Bonobo sexual encounters (both same-sex and opposite-sex). One ornithologist even x-rayed the eggs belonging to a homosexual pair of Black-winged Stilts to see if they were fertile (they weren’t).⁷

A drawing from 1896 showing two male Scarab Beetles copulating with each other. This is one of the first scientific illustrations of animal homosexuality to be published.

Unfortunately, in a few cases scientists have subjected animals to more extreme experimental treatments, procedures, or “interventions.” During several studies of captive animals, same-sex partners in Rhesus Macaques, Bottlenose Dolphins, Cheetahs, Long-eared Hedgehogs, and Black-headed Gulls (among others) were forcibly separated, either because their activities were considered “unhealthy,” or in order to study their reaction and subsequent behavior on being reunited, or to try to coerce the animals to mate heterosexually. A female pair of Orange-fronted Parakeets was forcibly removed from their nest—which they had successfully defended against a heterosexual pair—in order to “allow” the opposite-sex pair to breed in their stead (based in part on the mistaken assumption that female pairs are unable to be parents). Female Stumptail Macaques had electrodes implanted in their uteri in order to monitor their orgasmic responses during homosexual encounters, while female Squirrel Monkeys were deafened to monitor the effect on vocalizations made during homosexual activities.