Last updated on May 23, 2025
Question:
Why are some animals gay?
Answer:
Animals will engage in homosexual behavior when a mate is not available; however, once a mate is present, animals will immediately return to heterosexual behavior. For example, in “Same-Sex Behavior Seen In Nearly All Animals, Review Finds,” a Science Daily article, qualifies its assertion by warning that what is called “homosexual behavior” isn’t always as it appears, nor is it expressed in the same way as human homosexual behavior. Thus, to balance the information, consider the points made in “The Animal Homosexuality Myth.” An interesting example is what happened last summer. San Francisco has long proclaimed it had a pair of homosexual penguins. What wasn’t mentioned is that the zoo kept more male penguins than females. When a female penguin lost its mate in death, people were “shocked” to find out that one of the so-called homosexual males left for the female. (No adjustment period was needed here, by the way.) Therefore, there wasn’t real homosexuality involved, but an artificial environment produced unnatural pressure.
Some animals behave bisexually; that is, the drive to mate is so strong that they do so with either gender or even with other species. The cases of claimed homosexuality are better labeled as bisexual behavior. Yet, the preference is always to mate with the opposite gender of the same species.