Animal Sexuality Isn't a Political Issue

[Staff]

Animal Sexuality Isn't a Political Issue
Posted by Ross Pomeroy
Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:52:30

Animal Sexuality Isn't a Political Issue - Blog
excerpt from above:

Do animals exhibit homosexual behavior? The simple answer to this question is...

[dapjwy]

Two thoughts came to mind when reading this:

First, it reminded me of a conversation I had with someone just a day or two before who was blaming science for something...and I reminded him that it wasn't the science to blame but the way it was being applied. There seems to be such a distrust of science by many as of late. I'm not saying that scientists can't have an agenda or an expected outcome, but the results of a study should be accurately and honestly recorded whether they support the hypothesis or not...even if that is not the case, science must be repeatable and other scientists will attempt to repeat the results...peer review should weed out false information.

The other thought was that the idea of pair bonding that was mentioned in the article would, to me, seem to be the closest comparison to the loving relationship between a committed gay or lesbian couple...which led me to another question: do animals experience love for each other in a similar way that humans do?

[Rebek56]

"do animals experience love for each other in a similar way that humans do? "

I don't know about "romantic" love, which may well be a human invention, but observation suggests that animals certainly do form emotional ties to each other. Our youngest cat, who after nearly five years in our house is still basically feral--at least she's afraid of humans except under the most special circumstances--bonded with our big neutered male, who was her "protector" (in her mind, anyway), playmate, and security blanket. He died suddenly of kidney failure this summer, and her behavior certainly looked like grief to me.

[suunto]

Originally Posted by Rebek56

"do animals experience love for each other in a similar way that humans do? "

We still understand very little about what really goes on in an animal's mind (let alone our own) - see Chimps' Answer to Einstein - ScienceNOW for another example...

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by Rebek56

"do animals experience love for each other in a similar way that humans do? "

I don't know about "romantic" love, which may well be a human invention, but observation suggests that animals certainly do form emotional ties to each other. Our youngest cat, who after nearly five years in our house is still basically feral--at least she's afraid of humans except under the most special circumstances--bonded with our big neutered male, who was her "protector" (in her mind, anyway), playmate, and security blanket. He died suddenly of kidney failure this summer, and her behavior certainly looked like grief to me.

I'm sorry for your lose and hers as well. How is she holding up?

I think animals can grieve...aren't mourning doves named for that very reason? It shouldn't surprise me, but I guess animals do exhibit emotions...I'm not sure I quite thought to apply the term emotion. (...or it could be that it is well past my bedtime after a very long day and I'm just not thinking clearly.)

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by suunto

We still understand very little about what really goes on in an animal's mind (let alone our own) - see Chimps' Answer to Einstein - ScienceNOW for another example...

True. ...and I'd bet no matter what we learn, there will always be so much more to uncover.

I have to wonder how reading that article so close to bedtime might affect my dreams.