Scientists have observed homosexual behavior in several marine species such as walruses, seals, dolphins, orcas and whales.
One of the animals that has given scientists the most heads is the Humpback whales, also known as megaptera novaeangliae. One of the largest cetaceans in the world, with a length of between 12 and 16 meters and more than 36.000 kg weight. However, its reproduction remained a reliable unknown: until now it had been impossible to capture two specimens maintaining sexual intercourse.
The most that had been achieved to date was to capture a male's penis in an image. A fact that will remain in the background after the discoveries of Lyle Krannichfeld i Brandi Romano, two American photographers who were able to immortalize the moment of intercourse in 2022. Still, what they did not expect to discover in the waters of Maui, the second largest island in Hawaii, is that those two whales were males.
This milestone has been captured, two years later, in an article that the researcher from the Pacific Whale Foundation Stephanie Stack has published for the magazine Marine Mammal Science. "Although we have long recognized the complex social structures of these incredible creatures, witnessing two male whales copulate for the first time is a unique and remarkable event.", wrote the scientist in her publication, this past Wednesday.
More common in groups
Stack reiterated that the sexual behavior of Humpback whales had turned out very “mysterious” to date, pointing out that this finding “Challenge preconceived notions about your behavior”. However, relationships and mating scenes between males of the same species are not a new issue in the animal world, much less in the marine environment with, for example, dolphins and orcas.
Likewise, a study of Superior Council of Scientific Investigations insisted that the homosexual behavior Among non-human mammals it is more common in social species, which interact within the same group. “It is an adaptation that plays an important role in maintaining social relationships in both sexes and mitigating conflicts mainly between males.", explained the main author of the study, Jose Maria Gomez.
Non-reproductive sex
El non-reproductive sexual behavior It is not exclusive to humpback whales and has been observed in several marine and also terrestrial species.
But what is the reason behind this specific behavior in the case of Humpback whales? The hypotheses are practice for future sexual encounters, the establishment or maintenance of social bonds, the reduction of tensions or the assertion of dominance.
Thus, this study not only provides the first documented evidence of penetrative sexual behavior among male humpback whales, but also adds to the countless already documented cases where non-reproductive sex takes place.
