LGBT animals.

“No species has been found in which homosexual behaviour has not been shown to exist, with the exception of species that never have sex at all, such as sea urchins and aphids”  –Petter Bøckman

We are well into LGBTQ+ pride month.

This week, I’ve compiled 6 of my favourite examples of LGBT in the animal kingdom. To celebrate love and to remind ourselves of just how normal and widespread LGBTQ+ is.

1. Bonobos

Did you know, homosexual sex is more predominant in primates that are more closely related to humans (such as apes) than those that are from more distant taxonomic groups (such as lemurs). In apes and old-world monkeys, homosexual sex is a common and socially complex thing. And among the apes, the Bonobos are particularly well known for their bisexuality. It is thought that homosexual acts contribute to group cohesion (Savolainen and Hodgson, 2016). Bonobos also live in matriarchal societies, and they experience far less group conflict than their closely related chimps.

2. Sheep

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) were the second mammal after humans known to science that display exclusive homosexual behaviour. Same-sexual behaviour, in fact, is not uncommon in wild Ovis species – and can occur in both males and females. Although the occurrence is higher in males. But what makes O.aries so interesting to previous studies, is that they have been observed to ignore oestrus ewes in preference of other males. (Poiani, 2010).

3. Dolphins

Male bottlenose dolphins have been observed engaging in sexual behaviours with members of the same sex, in Australia.

An article suggests that homosexual behaviour plays a role in the social organisations of the species’ males. As they help form bonds and establish dominance.  The socio-sexual behaviour could also be important in providing protection, safety in numbers, or for increasing their chances to reproduce, as a larger group could be able to more easily locate females. (Carpineti, 2017).

4. Clownfish

Clownfish are here and queer and they’re representing the T in LGBT. Clownfish are all born male. They live in schools made up of all males and are lead by one dominant female. The female will choose the largest and most aggressive male to mate with, and should she die, that dominant male will begin to develop into a female to take her place. She will then choose a breeding partner from the remaining available males.

It is thought that the ability to change sex developed because clownfish always remain close to their sea anemone homes (except Nemo of course), which they form a symbiotic relationship with. So if they didn’t have to ability to adapt when faced with limited mating partners, they may not get a chance to breed at all. (Hiskey, 2011).

5. Black-headed Gulls

Hey gull friend. When you see a colony of black-headed gulls, you can be sure that almost every tenth pair is lesbian. According to an article, some animals live a completely homosexual life. Examples can be found especially among birds that mate for life. Such as gulls, geese and ducks. The article states that single females will lay eggs in a homosexual pair’s nest. It has been observed that the homosexual couple are often better at raising the young than heterosexual couples.

6. Whiptail lizards

Flying the asexual flag over in Mexico and the USA is the whiptail lizard. An all-female, strong independent lizard species that don’t need no male. Along with 70 other species of vertebrates, lizards of the Aspidoscelis genus can reproduce without male fertilization. It is still a question as to how they do it, without incurring genetic diseases or a lack of genetic variation.

However, research reveals that these lizards maintain genetic variation by starting the reproductive process with twice the number of chromosomes as their sexually reproducing cousins. This means that they can maintain the diversity by never pairing their homologous chromosomes (as sexual species do by taking one set of chromosomes from each parent) but rather by combining their sister chromosomes instead. (Harmon, 2010).

Finally,