Macaque monkeys frequently indulge in gay sex, suggests study
The research was conducted on 236 males who were living within a colony of 1,700 rhesus macaques monkeys.
New research suggests that bisexual behaviour is widespread among male monkeys and may prove beneficial to mammals.
Over three years, the researchers have been observing a wide range of macaques and noticed that homosexual or same-sex sexual (SSB) behaviour has evolved and might be a prominent feature of primate reproduction.
More offspring of males engaging in same-sex behaviour
The researchers of Imperial College London said that their findings have challenged the theories which claim SSB is a rare behaviour found in non-human animals or a product of unusual environmental conditions. The researchers also discovered that males engaging in SSB have more offspring.
Author Jackson Clive, who is associated with the Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet at Imperial, said: “We found most males were behaviourally bisexual, and that variation in same-sex activity was heritable.”
“This means that the behaviour can have an evolutionary underpinning; for example, we also found that males that mounted each other were also more likely to back each other up in conflicts – perhaps this could be one of many social benefits to same-sex sexual activity,” he added.
“Our research, therefore, shows that same-sex sexual behaviours can be common amongst animals and can evolve. I hope our results encourage further discoveries in this area,” Clive said.
'Same-sex behaviour natural'
Director of the Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet at Imperial and lead researcher Professor Vincent Savolainen said, “Unfortunately there is still a belief amongst some people that same-sex behaviour is ‘unnatural’, and some countries sadly still enforce the death penalty for homosexuality.”
“Our research shows that same-sex behaviour is in fact widespread amongst non-human animals. Our mission is to advance scientific understanding of same-sex behaviour, including exploring the benefits it brings to nature and within animal societies,” he added.
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“Amongst the macaques we looked at in this study, more than two-thirds displayed same-sex behaviour and this behaviour strengthened the bonds within the community,” he stated.
Around 236 males who are freely living within a colony of 1,700 rhesus macaques on the tropical island of Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico were studied by the researchers. The team, along with conducting genetic analysis and observing their behaviour, also had access to pedigree records which clearly mention the parentage of each individual back to 1956.
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