Humping Humpbacks: First-Ever Documentation of Sex In Species Reveals Both Whales to Be Male!

Well, that changed when photographers Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano on a recreational trip off the Hawaiian coast witnessed two humpbacks swimming toward them and circling their boat several times — all the while copulating! The photographer pair knew they’d stumbled upon something unusual, but didn’t know the true extent of just how extraordinary their pictures were until PhD student Stephanie Stack of the Pacific Whale Foundation intervened.

As it turned out, our adventuresome whales were humping away in a decidedly Brokeback Mountain-esque fashion — meaning both of them were males! The word humpback has probably taken a new meaning in your head, no? But before you start spinning some romantic tale here, there’s a good chance these humpbacks weren’t the whale equivalents of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal’s characters from the movie.

Exploring the Colourful Sexuality of Cetaceans

While this unprecedented encounter between humpbacks adds to the growing evidence of homosexuality in the animal kingdom, Stephanie Stack and her colleagues acknowledge that this may not have been a consensual act. The whale, referred to as A, showed signs of ill health, being uncommonly thin and infested with parasites — likely resulting from an unfriendly face-off with a ship. Further, A had also assumed an S shape, which is normally associated with the species being stressed or avoiding danger.

Irrespective of A’s misery and B’s apparent enjoyment, scientists are ecstatic about this new development. It raises some very intriguing questions, like was this a one-off incident or are same-sex encounters more common among whales than previously thought?

Humpback whales, like many other creatures, follow a seasonal rhythm. They feed in the frigid polar waters during the summer and migrate to tropical havens during the winter to give birth and raise their young. It's during this warm-water sojourn that scientists suspect most humpback mating occurs, increasing our chances of catching them in the act.

“In male cetaceans, homosexual activity can involve insertion of the penis of one male into the genital slit,” Stack and co-authors wrote in their report. Intriguingly, past observations have hinted at possible same-sex interactions in other cetacean species, like the notoriously amorous bottlenose dolphins.

Homosexuality in animals, however, might not be similar to humans doing it just because it feels good. Evolutionary biologists suggest that such nonreproductive behaviours could very well be driven by the animals learning or practising reproductive acts, establishing or reinforcing dominance in relationships, forming social alliances, and/or reducing social tension.

The reason behind this specific encounter remains unclear, but it could shed light on the broader spectrum of humpback behaviour, including their social interactions and dominance hierarchies. This discovery also highlights the evolving perspective on animal sexuality. Accounts of same-sex behaviour, once deemed "unnatural", are now being documented across numerous species, leading some scientists to propose that what we perceive as "normal" might actually be closer to a spectrum of bisexuality.

The findings of this study have been detailed in Marine Mammal Science and can be accessed here.

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