Humpback whales gay

For 30 minutes, they watched and photographed the two whales. She reached these conclusions using Happywhale, a massive citizen science database that uses artificial intelligence to identify individual whales based on their unique fluke markings.

Photographers Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano were on a boat in the Pacific Ocean near Maui, Hawaii, on January 19,when they came across two humpback whales.

These are the 1st

Whale A was covered in whale lice—which turned his body an unusual brown color—and had a severe jaw injury, likely from being struck by a boat. In that heightened physiological state, Whale B may have been exerting dominance over Whale A.

That theory is supported by the fact that Whale A was sick and injured. Maui-based photographers Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano spent about 30 minutes observing and photographing two male humpback whales on January 19, A male humpback whale dubbed Whale B was seen copulating with another male, Whale A, in the first-ever documented case of humpback whale mating.

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. Whale A was also extremely thin, likely because the jaw injury made it difficult to feed. The images offer new insights into humpback whale interactions, including the positions the creatures may assume while mating.

More broadly, the images suggest that researchers should take a closer look whenever they spot two adult humpback whales swimming together in the future. Even more surprising? The photographers knew sexual activity between humpbacks had never been observed before, and they thought their images might prove useful to scientists.

Now, for the first time ever, citizen scientists have photographed two humpback whales copulating. So, when they got back to shore, they sent the photographs to Stack. But despite their large size and widespread population, these gentle giants remain largely a mystery to scientists.

Same-sex sexual activity has been observed in more than 1, species of animals, according to an October study published in the journal Nature. In addition, scientists can now add humpback whales to the long list of animals known to engage in same-sex sexual activity, including bottlenose dolphins, bison and dragonflies.

Humpback Whale Sex Observed

In this specific situation, the male humpback whales may have had higher-than-normal hormone levels because it was mating season. Upon closer inspection, she realized that, not only had the photographers captured the first-ever images of humpback whale copulation, but that they had photographed two males engaging in sexual activity.

Alternatively, they may not have known each other previously, and Whale B may have simply mistaken Whale A for a female. Sarah Kuta Read More. For the first time, researchers have observed humpback whales having sex. Both whales were male, according to a new study published last week in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

My latest research paper is published! Generally speaking, scientists think animals engage in homosexual behavior to form social bonds, reduce tension and practice mating, among other possible reasons. Humpback whales are some of the biggest animals on the planet, and they live in all the world’s oceans.

Not only that, but both of the whales photographed were male, marking the first example of homosexuality demonstrated in. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics. Many of their behaviors have never been documented before.

By broadening our views on sexuality and mating practices, this discovery opens new avenues for understanding. But despite their large size and widespread population, these gentle giants remain largely. Photographers Hawaii captured what scientists say is the first documentation of humpback whale sex.

In conclusion, the observation of homosexual behavior in humpback whales near Maui marks a milestone in animal behavior research.