Two male penguins at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in New York recently became foster in 2021 to a hatchling in need. The zoo runs a Species Survival Plan for the vulnerable Humbolt penguin species and the most reliable penguin couples are given an egg to incubate in their nests. A male couple called Elmer and Lima were given their first shot at fostering an egg, and on January 1 2022, they welcomed a healthy baby chick. They were the zoo's first-ever same-sex foster parents!

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Elephants - Same-sex relationships among elephants are long-lasting, unlike their heterosexual relationships. Up to 45% of Asiatic elephants form same-sex relationships.

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Giraffes - Male giraffes are much more likely to perform mating rituals with other males than they are with females.

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American bison - Both bulls and cattle are known for forming same-sex pairs.

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Marmots - Female marmots are more commonly known to mate with each other than with males.

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Polecats - European polecats are believed to form romantic same-sex relationships for no evolutionary purpose.

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Sheep - Between 8 and 10% of rams are attracted to the same sex and another 18 to 20% of rams are attracted to both sexes.

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Spotted hyenas - Hyenas live in a matriarchal society where females are very aggressive and routinely mate with each other.

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Lions - Male lions will spend days together in same-sex bonding. While female same-sex relationships are common in captivity, the behavior has never been observed in the wild.

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Whiptail lizards - Whiptail lizards have an asexual reproductive system. Females increase their hormones by having sex with other females.

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Tortoises - Tortoises are regularly observed mating with the same sex.

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Bottlenose dolphins - Bottlenose dolphins are the most-observed dolphins for same-sex coupling, which includes females partnering with each other as well as males partnering with each other.

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Amazon river dolphins -

Dolphins have sex for pleasure and Amazon river dolphins have mating groups of three to five, often including one or two females.

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Bonobos - Bonobos live in a matriarchal society where most are bisexual and most sexual activity involves two or more females.

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Japanese macaques -

Same-sex unions are highly common among these snow monkeys. Females will form groups and males pair off with other male monkeys of a similar age.

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Оrangutans - Same-sex bonding is a fundamental part of orangutan society, both in the wild and in captivity.

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Vultures - Male griffon vultures have been observed mating and raising adopted eggs together.

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Black swans - One quarter of all black swan couples are two males. The males sometimes include a female third partner and drive her away after she lays her eggs.

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Laysan albatrosses - After mating with males, female laysan albatrosses often pair off with each other to raise their hatchlings, possibly because there are far more females than males.

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Ibises - Scientists observed that ibises exposed to methylmercury had a significantly higher rate of mating with the same sex than those that were not.

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Mallards - Up to 19% of male mallard ducks will mate with other males after impregnating female ones.

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Pigeons - Both male and female pigeons are known to have same-sex relationships, with female pigeon pairs laying infertile eggs and attempting to nest them.

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Penguins - A number of penguin species have been observed engaging in same-sex partnerships.

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Magellanic penguins - Two male magellanic penguins raised an adopted baby penguin together in the San Francisco Zoo.

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Bats - Up to 20 species of bats are known to form same-sex relationships.

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Long-fingered bats - Male long-fingered bats from Morocco, Algeria, southern Europe, and western Iran are known to have sex with each other.

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Indian flying foxes - Male Indian flying foxes in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Tibet, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are also known for having sex with each other.

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Dragonflies - Between 20 and 80% of male dragonflies couple with other males.

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Fruit flies -

Male fruit flies almost exclusively mate with other males.

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Bed bugs -

Bed bugs are attracted to any newly-fed member of their species, including members of the same sex.

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Shutterstock

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Penguins -

Shutterstock

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Elephants - Same-sex relationships among elephants are long-lasting, unlike their heterosexual relationships. Up to 45% of Asiatic elephants form same-sex relationships.

2 / 31 Fotos

Giraffes - Male giraffes are much more likely to perform mating rituals with other males than they are with females.

3 / 31 Fotos

American bison - Both bulls and cattle are known for forming same-sex pairs.

4 / 31 Fotos

Marmots - Female marmots are more commonly known to mate with each other than with males.

5 / 31 Fotos

Polecats - European polecats are believed to form romantic same-sex relationships for no evolutionary purpose.

6 / 31 Fotos

Sheep - Between 8 and 10% of rams are attracted to the same sex and another 18 to 20% of rams are attracted to both sexes.

7 / 31 Fotos

Spotted hyenas - Hyenas live in a matriarchal society where females are very aggressive and routinely mate with each other.

8 / 31 Fotos

Lions - Male lions will spend days together in same-sex bonding. While female same-sex relationships are common in captivity, the behavior has never been observed in the wild.

9 / 31 Fotos

Whiptail lizards - Whiptail lizards have an asexual reproductive system. Females increase their hormones by having sex with other females.

10 / 31 Fotos

Tortoises - Tortoises are regularly observed mating with the same sex.

11 / 31 Fotos

Bottlenose dolphins - Bottlenose dolphins are the most-observed dolphins for same-sex coupling, which includes females partnering with each other as well as males partnering with each other.

12 / 31 Fotos

Amazon river dolphins -

Dolphins have sex for pleasure and Amazon river dolphins have mating groups of three to five, often including one or two females.

Shutterstock

13 / 31 Fotos

Bonobos - Bonobos live in a matriarchal society where most are bisexual and most sexual activity involves two or more females.

14 / 31 Fotos

Japanese macaques -

Same-sex unions are highly common among these snow monkeys. Females will form groups and males pair off with other male monkeys of a similar age.

Shutterstock

15 / 31 Fotos

Оrangutans - Same-sex bonding is a fundamental part of orangutan society, both in the wild and in captivity.

16 / 31 Fotos

Vultures - Male griffon vultures have been observed mating and raising adopted eggs together.

17 / 31 Fotos

Black swans - One quarter of all black swan couples are two males. The males sometimes include a female third partner and drive her away after she lays her eggs.

18 / 31 Fotos

Laysan albatrosses - After mating with males, female laysan albatrosses often pair off with each other to raise their hatchlings, possibly because there are far more females than males.

19 / 31 Fotos

Ibises - Scientists observed that ibises exposed to methylmercury had a significantly higher rate of mating with the same sex than those that were not.

20 / 31 Fotos

Mallards - Up to 19% of male mallard ducks will mate with other males after impregnating female ones.

21 / 31 Fotos

Pigeons - Both male and female pigeons are known to have same-sex relationships, with female pigeon pairs laying infertile eggs and attempting to nest them.

22 / 31 Fotos

Penguins - A number of penguin species have been observed engaging in same-sex partnerships.

23 / 31 Fotos

Magellanic penguins - Two male magellanic penguins raised an adopted baby penguin together in the San Francisco Zoo.

24 / 31 Fotos

Bats - Up to 20 species of bats are known to form same-sex relationships.

25 / 31 Fotos

Long-fingered bats - Male long-fingered bats from Morocco, Algeria, southern Europe, and western Iran are known to have sex with each other.

26 / 31 Fotos

Indian flying foxes - Male Indian flying foxes in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Tibet, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are also known for having sex with each other.

27 / 31 Fotos

Dragonflies - Between 20 and 80% of male dragonflies couple with other males.

28 / 31 Fotos

Fruit flies -

Male fruit flies almost exclusively mate with other males.

Shutterstock

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Bed bugs -

Bed bugs are attracted to any newly-fed member of their species, including members of the same sex.

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Animals that mate with the same sex

Two male penguins became foster parents to a hatchling at a New York zoo

23/08/24 | StarsInsider

LIFESTYLE Animals

Same-sex partnership is common in every major group of species in almost all geographic regions of the world. Scientists don't fully understand the evolutionary reasons behind why animals mate with the same sex, but it's clearly widespread behavior in the animal kingdom. Check out which animals are known to mate with the same sex here.