- Joined
- Oct 14, 2015
- Messages
- 64,310
- Reaction score
- 62,760
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Other
These two male humpback whales were observed mating in 2022. Photograph: Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano
Humpback whales have been observed having sex for the first time, with this landmark moment having an interesting twist – the two whales were male. Despite decades of research on humpback whales, sightings of the male’s penis have been rare. Copulation by the species had not been documented by people – until now, when two photographers captured images of a sexual encounter between two whales off the coast of Hawaii. The sighting, confirmed by scientists in a newly published study, occurred in January 2022 in waters west of the island of Maui, where two whales approached and circled a boat before engaging in sexual activity about three to five meters below the vessel. Both of the whales were male, which makes the photos, taken by Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano, the first evidence of homosexual behavior in humpback whales as well as the first sighting of sex in the species. Homosexual behavior is common in the animal kingdom and has been spotted among dolphins and orca whales, but never previously between humpback whales.
.
.
During the intimate encounter photographed in Hawaii, one of the whales was seen to be holding the other in place with its pectoral fins while penetrating it. . . The penises of male humpback whales are usually concealed in what is known as a “genital slit” to make it more streamlined while swimming. An unsheathed penis has only been witnessed a small number of times in the past, once while a whale was urinating.
[cont]
Humpback sex photographed for first time – and both whales were male
Scientists confirm sighting of two same-sex marine giants copulating in amorous encounter off Hawaii coast
www.theguardian.com
* The last quoted bit included to avoid the expected dumbass trolling angle of "it says we haven't seen them have sex before so wE DoN't KnOw! " *
You know MAGA is going to blame it on "woke". Or Biden Chemtrails. You never know. Bottom line: this is observed across species. But just like the fossil record, we can only ever expect to observe a small fraction of what is or has been.