It is well known the case of George Murray Levick, the first scientist to observe a complete cycle of Adélie penguins in Antarctica. He was running back then in 1915.
When he published his observations, he decided to censor some details, especially those related to the homosexual behavior, for this he used annotations with the Greek alphabet. Information that would not be clarified until June 2012, almost a century later.
And it is that the look at animal sexuality throughout the 20th century was biased and, on more than one occasion, when sexual interactions between individuals of the same sex were observed, it was attributed to very simplistic explanations, or that there were not enough animals of the another sex in that group or that they were unable to distinguish males from females.
It was considered that animal homosexual relations were an anomaly, a crooked line of nature, however, the reality is that these types of practices are very abundant. Some authoritative voices estimate that there could be up to 1,500 species that maintain, in some way, homosexual ties.
Sex does not always seek reproduction
Sometimes there is a tendency to emphasize that the only purpose of sexual intercourse in the animal kingdom is reproduction, when this statement is not entirely true. There are, for example, animals that masturbate, such as dolphins or deer, or that resort to mutual masturbation, as occurs in female dolphins or female elephants, two types of behavior that are not related to reproduction.
Sexual relations have also been observed outside of animal heat or during a period in which the individual is not reproductive, either because it is too young or because it is too old, and there are also sexual relations with pregnant females. In short, animal sexuality does not always pursue a reproductive purpose.
Diversity in animal families
Contrary to what we might think a priori, animal families do not follow a universal pattern either. We find species that form same-sex unions, single-parent families -male or female-, trios that take care of the young, couples that come together to raise the offspring together…
Thus, for example, Japanese macaques (Fuscata macaque) usually live in groups made up of a high number of females and a reduced number of males, where intense bonds are established between the females based on mutual sexual attraction.
For their part, the male and female groups of the cougar, mountain lion or American lion (Puma concolor), a carnivorous mammal native to America, generally live separately, but some individuals, anatomically male, behave like females, acquiring their own behaviors.
In the case of black swans, some mute males form stable and long-lasting relationships with partners of the same sex, who often search for eggs that have been abandoned. Between the two members of the couple they incubate them and, later, they jointly raise the little swans. Interestingly, it has been observed that these couples, like the flamingos, have more successful parenting relationships than those based on heterosexual relationships.
In the animal kingdom we also find animals that can change their sex at will, as is the case, for example, in fish. Thalassoma bifasciatum –los blue headed wrasse– that begin life as females but at a certain point in development may become males.
And it is that, although we Homo sapiens believe we are different and unique even in what refers to sexuality, the reality is that we are just another animal, a small subset within the enormous diversity that we find in nature.