What percentage of monkeys are gay

This stems from evolution, rather than just being a random behavior. Our research shows that same-sex behaviour is in fact widespread amongst non-human animals. In line with this, the team also analysed whether SSB was heritable.

The team studied males within a colony of 1, rhesus macaques living freely on the tropical island of Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. Researchers have found that 72 percent of male macaques engaged in same-sex mounting. [1][2] This is a list of animals for which there is documented evidence of homosexual behavior.

Scientists found that rhesus macaques often participate in gay sex. 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.

As well as observing their behaviour and conducting genetic analyses, the team had access to pedigree records, which detail parentage of each individual back to SSB has been observed in thousands of different animals, ranging from insects to penguins, leading many to theorise about why it happens.

Observations of a wild colony of macaques over three years show same-sex sexual behaviour among males is widespread and may be beneficial. Instead, the results suggest some degree of SSB can evolve adaptively, depending on the context, and so may be a common feature of primate reproductive ecology.

These findings support counter-arguments to the idea that SBB 'defies nature and evolution' the so-called 'Darwinian Paradox'. Life Sex between two males is extremely common in wild macaque monkeys Almost three-quarters of male macaques observed by scientists mounted other males, and the behaviour may help to strengthen.

Male monkeys have more

A new study from Imperial College London indicates that more than two-thirds of male macaque monkeys engage in same-sex ‘mounting’, concluding most of them to be “behaviourally bisexual”. male macaque monkeys in Puerto Rico were observed for this study, which found that 72% engaged in sexual activities with the same sex.

This means male pairs that regularly engage in SSB were more likely to back each other up in conflicts, providing them with an advantage in the group. The results, published today in Nature Ecology and Evolutionsuggest same-sex sexual behaviour SSB has evolved and may be a common feature of primate reproduction.

List of mammals displaying homosexual behavior Giraffes in Kenya; giraffes have been called "especially gay " for engaging in male-male sexual behavior more often than male-female (heterosexual) sex. The bisexual monkeys produced more offspring than their heterosexual counterparts.

Though the researchers caution against direct comparisons to humans, they say their study challenges the beliefs of some that SSB is a rare behaviour in non-human animals or solely the product of unusual environmental conditions. In addition, whether individuals were more likely to be mounters or mountees did not corelate with their social position, suggesting asserting their place in the hierarchy is not an important factor for SSB in this species.

I hope our results encourage further discoveries in this area. The researchers also investigated whether SSB led to any fitness cost — a reduction in the amount of offspring they have. Conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, the observations and genetic data form the first long-term study of SSB in males within one species.

These theories include ideas about establishing dominance in groups, shortages of different-sex partners, and reducing tension following aggression, but little data is available to support any theory. Hayley Dunning Communications Division. Lead researcher Professor Vincent SavolainenDirector of the Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet at Imperial, 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.

This figure is similar to other heritable behaviours in primates, such as grooming and sociality. 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.

Using the pedigree data, they found SSB in males was 6. Their study challenges the beliefs of some that SSB is a rare behaviour in non-human animals or solely the product of unusual environmental conditions. Email: press.

Read more about the study form the authors in The Conversation. In fact, they found the opposite — males that engaged in SSB may be more successful in reproducing, potentially due to the benefits provided by more coalitionary bonds. There are many examples of other primate groups engaging in different forms of SSB, so further in-depth genetic studies could strengthen this conclusion.