I was wondering if that is a scientific fact?

Question

..I was reading an article this morning about an upset mom, who was reading her child this book that she had come home with. It was entitled three to love or something like that, and it was about these 2 penguins who were gay males and had adopted an abandoned egg, and they raised it. I know the book is a kids fiction book, but, are animals gay or is that a just with human beings?

Answer 1

Yes a lot of animal are gay. Gay penguins new story below.

(02-07) 04:00 PST New York -- Roy and Silo, two chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan, are completely devoted to each other. For nearly six years now, they have been inseparable. They exhibit what in penguin parlance is called "ecstatic behavior": That is, they entwine their necks, they vocalize to each other, they have sex. Silo and Roy are, to anthropomorphize a bit, gay penguins.

When offered female companionship, they have adamantly refused it. And the females aren't interested in them, either.

At one time, the two seemed so desperate to incubate an egg together that they put a rock in their nest and sat on it, keeping it warm in the folds of their abdomens, said their chief keeper, Rob Gramzay. Finally, he gave them a fertile egg that needed care to hatch. Things went perfectly, and a chick, Tango, was born.

For the next 2 1/2 months they raised Tango, keeping her warm and feeding her food from their beaks until she could go out into the world on her own. Gramzay is full of praise. "They did a great job," he said.

Roy and Silo are hardly unusual. Indeed, scientists have found homosexual behavior throughout the animal world.

This growing body of science has been increasingly drawn into charged debates about homosexuality in American society, on subjects from gay marriage to sodomy laws, despite reluctance from experts in the field to extrapolate from animals to humans. Gay groups argue that if homosexual behavior occurs in animals, it is natural, and therefore the rights of homosexuals should be protected. On the other hand, some conservative religious groups have condemned the same practices in the past, calling them "animalistic."

But if homosexuality occurs among animals, does that necessarily mean it is natural for humans? And that raises a familiar question: If homosexuality is not a choice, but a result of natural forces that cannot be controlled, can it be immoral?

The open discussion of homosexual behavior in animals is relatively new.

"There has been a certain cultural shyness about admitting it," said Frans de Waal, whose 1997 book, "Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape" (University of California Press), unleashed a torrent of discussion about animal sexuality.

Bonobos, apes closely related to humans, are wildly energetic sexually. Studies show that whether observed in the wild or in captivity, nearly all are bisexual and nearly half their sexual interactions are with the same sex. Females have been observed to engage in homosexual activity almost hourly.

Before his own book, "American scientists who investigated bonobos never discussed sex at all," said de Waal, director of the Living Links Center of the Yerkes Primate Center at Emory University in Atlanta. "Or they sometimes would show two females having sex together, and would say, 'The females are very affectionate.' "

Then in 1999, Bruce Bagemihl published "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" (St. Martin's Press), one of the first books of its kind to provide an overview of scholarly studies of same-sex behavior in animals. Bagemihl said homosexual behavior had been documented in some 450 species.

Last summer, the book was cited by the American Psychiatric Association and other groups in a "friend of the court" brief submitted to the Supreme Court in Lawrence vs. Texas, a case challenging a Texas anti-sodomy law. The court struck down the law.

In his book, Bagemihl describes homosexual activity in a broad spectrum of animals. He asserts that while same-sex behavior is sometimes found in captivity, it is actually seen more frequently in studies of animals in the wild.

Among birds, for instance, studies show that 10 to 15 percent of female western gulls in some populations in the wild are homosexual. Among mammals, male and female bottlenose dolphins frequently engage in homosexual activity, both in captivity and in the wild. Homosexuality is particularly common among young male dolphin calves. One male may protect another that is resting or healing from wounds inflicted by a predator. When one partner dies, the other may search for a new male mate.

Male and female rhesus macaques, a type of monkey, also exhibit homosexuality in captivity and in the wild. Males are affectionate to each other, touching, holding and embracing. Females smack their lips at each other and play games like hide-and-seek, peekaboo and follow the leader. And both sexes mount members of their own sex.

Some scientists say homosexual behavior in animals is not necessarily about sex. Marlene Zuk, a professor of biology at UC Riverside and author of "Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can't Learn About Sex From Animals" (University of California Press, 2002), notes that scientists have speculated that homosexuality may have an evolutionary purpose, ensuring the survival of the species. By not producing their own offspring, homosexuals may help support or nurture their relatives' young. "That is a contribution to the gene pool," she said.

Janet Mann, a professor of biology and psychology at Georgetown University who has studied same-sex behavior in dolphin calves, says their homosexuality "is about bond formation, not about being sexual for life."

She said studies show that adult male dolphins form long-term alliances, sometimes in large groups. As adults, they cooperate to entice a single female and keep other males from her. Sometimes they share the female, or they may cooperate to help one male.

"Male-male cooperation is extremely important," Mann said. The homosexual behavior of the young calves "could be practicing" for that later, crucial adult period, she added.

Scientists warn about drawing conclusions about humans. "For some people, what animals do is a yardstick of what is and isn't natural," Vasey said. "They make a leap from saying if it's natural, it's morally and ethically desirable."

But he added: "Infanticide is widespread in the animal kingdom. To jump from that to say it is desirable makes no sense. We shouldn't be using animals to craft moral and social policies for the kinds of human societies we want to live in. Animals don't take care of the elderly. I don't particularly think that should be a platform for closing down nursing homes."

What the animal studies do show, Zuk observed, is that "sexuality is a lot broader term than people want to think."

"You have this idea that the animal kingdom is strict, old-fashioned Roman Catholic," she said, "that they have sex just to procreate."

In bonobos, she noted: "you see expressions of sex outside the period when females are fertile. Suddenly, you are beginning to see that sex is not necessarily about reproduction."

Answer 2

Animals cannot be gay not like how humans are gay - their brains don't work like that. They have a set of behaviors (and their variations) to use in situations - some appropriate and some inappropriate.

This is probably why people think that sexual preference in humans can be modified. They see it as a behavior misapplied. Humans are more complex so it's not nearly a cut and dry situation. Animals function with one mind, lower instinctual - humans function with at least two, the lower and an upper thinking mind.

Answer 3

There are quite a few accounts of "homosexual relationships" within the animal kingdom. While most scientists like to ignore the examples and continue to think that anything sexual amongst animals is merely for the propagation of the species, there are some that say that "gay" and "lesbian" relationships within groups of animals actually strengthen pack bonds.

There was an article on this same topic within an American paper recently (darned if I can remember which one though, sorry *s*). So yes, there are situations where pairings of two males have raised babies. The instance I can remember reading about was a pair of male swans (swans are one of the animals that pair for life), one of which mated with a female, allowed her to lay the eggs in their nest, and then chased the female off, continuing to hatch the eggs themselves and rear the babies.

Hope that answers your question. :)

Answer 4

There have been many observations of animals being gay. As far as penguins are concerned, I included 2 sources of gay penguins in zoos (1 in New York, United States and 1 in Bremerhaven, Germany)

Answer 5

I recently read an article about this subject - I wish I could remember where. But it said that there has definitely been homosexuality observed in nature. Sometimes it is sexual, and sometimes it is purely companionship.

After watching March of the Penguins, I could see where two males could adopt an abandoned egg - but I don't think they'd have to be gay to do it...

Answer 6

I have read that if the deer population gets too large for the food supply the males turn gay. I do not know if it is true or not

Answer 7

it isn't a gay penguin book

it is about male penguines looking after the egg because that is what male penguines do... they watch over the eggs and keep them warm more than the female penguines do

why does everything have to be gay or not gay???

Answer 8

i think of the subject lies in having unqualified ar$eholes interpret empirical findings. Correlations are interpreted as causal. Conjectural hypotheses stated in the controversy factors of learn are provided as favourite consequences. Frequencies are stated as statistically significant findings. Methodological possibilities at the instant are not carefully examined or seen. And, the checklist is going on and on. In result, newshounds are misinforming society. Tack on funds and basically what's worthwhile is stated, yet simply by motives reported above, additionally twisted previous perception. it relatively is pathetic and pis$es me off royally.

Answer 9

You of course could have looked this up yourself to know it was true, or had listened to the media coverage about the penguins in New York. Of course its true, it does happen.

But that isn't the point of your question is it?

Stop grandstanding, you can look it up for yourself

Answer 10

Many animals have displayed homosexual activity, and many animals raise each other in same-sex relationships.

Christians will try to deny this, or explain that we are not animals, to justify their hatred of gays.

Answer 11

While that book may be a fictitious account, it is based on actual events.