More same-sex couples -- in the albatross family

Those of us who live in California know we are in the midst of a culture war over gay marriage. First the state Supreme Court overturns a ban on gay marriage. Next, an initiative barring gay marriage gets enough signatures to qualify for the Nov. 4 ballot. It's enough to give the state a collective case of whiplash.

In the meantime, those who remain focused on the sanctity of marriage between and a man and a woman and the way traditional couples care for their children might want to read about the Laysan albatrosses of Oahu.  The New York Times reports:

Cooperative breeding, in which an animal assists in caring for offspring that are not its own, is often found in nature. But researchers in Hawaii have uncovered a case that is not so common, involving long-term pairs of unrelated birds of the same sex.

Lindsay C. Young of the University of Hawaii and colleagues studied a colony of Laysan albatrosses on Oahu from 2004 to 2007. These birds are monogamous, and both parents participate in raising a single hatchling.

The researchers conducted genetic tests and monitored the pairs’ reproductive success. They report in Biology Letters that nearly one-third of the 125 pairs consisted of two unrelated females, and half of these stayed together for the duration of the study.

The researchers note that for female-female pairing like this to occur, usually there has to be a surplus of females in the population. That is the case for the Oahu colony, which is young and has been growing by immigration, with most of the newcomers being female.

Perhaps one of the couples will get its own storybook, like the two male penguins in New York's Central Park Zoo that adopted a fertilized egg and raised the chick as their own. The book was titled "And Tango Makes Three." Earlier this year, the book found itself (again) on the American Library Assn.'s list of most challenged books.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[032125]

What a lame attempt at justification. Ants commit genocide, and engage in slavery. Gerbils cannabalize thier young. Shall we chew up our foor and vomit it into our children as well?

This is pure propaganda and selective science at it's dumbest.

[Jenn]

(sarcasm) Oh no, the sanctity of the heterosexual animal family is under attack. Here comes the fire and brimstone! Repent you animal abominations! repent!

[Greg]

Albatross and Penguins? You don't have to look that far to find evidence of homosexuality in nature. I was at a family reunion last week where my aunt's dog continually tried to mount my cousin's dog... Both dogs are male...

[Monica]

This is rediculous. Has anyone ever heard of female friendships. In human form they sound alot like the Albatross. When there is an absense of eligable men, the females stick together more. They never saw all these female albatross trying to make a baby together, or anything sexual, but as companions. I hate it how 'scientists' try and make anything look natural. It just shows you that statistics can say anything, and scientist try to prove anything too. Too bad 'scientists' are making a bad name for themselves by bending the truth. True scientist are just that, they create theory's or proofs based on facts, not on politics and public opinion.

[MG]

Those are birds - we're talking about humnans here. A 3rd grader would be able to quantify this difference.

[Kennesaw]

Some animals eat their own turds. Is that an excuse for us? (And note that these birds are not MATING, rather, they are pairing up in ways no more meaningful than friends or family sharing a house.)

[MARK ROBISON]

Humans are not birds. Please give me a break

[Jim]

You forget the golden rule- " He Who CREATED gold also made the RULES"
God Does NOT change- It was a ABOMINATION in his site then- now & will allways be. If all 330,000,000
Americans call it ok God is STILL going to call it an ABOMINATION & his judgement will fall on ALL who call Good evil & Evil good.It is just like in town- Speed limit is 25 m.p.h. You want to say " It's MY car & if i want to drive it 100 miles an hour I'm going to & theres nothing anyone of you bigots can say that will stop me"
You go right ahead after you have been warned & the next thing you'll be seeing is flashing red lights ,Then a jail cell, then a Judge. I dare you to go into a Court of Law & tell a Judge I don't agree with the Law & I refuse to obey it. See what happens to you.
Likewise If you break GOD'S LAW You WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES.& the Legislators, Judges ,Preachers That are violateing Gods Law Will recieve to themselves Greater Damnation

[Bob Smithe]

What kind of skewed logic is that? Just because another adult or parental figure assists in raising children does not make a case for gay marriage. If person would like a partner in life they should stay married to the person they made the baby with, or control themselves to avoid making the baby at all.
Although, I would not recommend taking life lessons from birds (Dodos, Cuckoos don’t have a great reputation) we can take a lesson from these birds, and take care of children in need no matter our marital status.
You will not see examples in nature for gay marriage unless you hold onto the 'Straight' line of logic that this author enjoys following. There are few reasons that term ‘Bird Brain’ came to be, and maybe it should be used more often when considering this subject matter. People break out of your ‘shell’ and consider all of the negative things that we would experience if same sex marriage were legalized.
I am married and I would much rather give up the tax breaks and social benefits of being married over the option to legalize same sex marriage.

[jen hardiman]

okay,now we are compared to birds to prove that same sex "anything" is acceptable? by the way I approve same sex everything but to compare anything to birds is rediculous. Have you ever owned one?

[thechef]

and male gorillas mate with numerous females as soon as they go into heat, and male lions kill the young of other males..so what is your point??

[Debby]

Funny how the judges in California will allow gay people the right to marry and have sex but won't give parents the right to home school their own children. Really seem kind of crazy.

[polly]

I think it's good gay couples finally get the right to marriage, but I shudder at people trying to prove "human nature" through animal studies; remember the nonsense about supposed "basic" aggessiveness that came out of people's interpretations of Lorenz's actually very varied zoological observations?

[Fritz]

Okay your religion is not my religion. Don't try to force your religious beliefs on me or my family. Freedom of religion also means freedom FROM religion. Your religion and everyone else's religion.

If your God has such strong opinions, I'd like him to come educate us. Surely he would choose not to educate us with death and destruction. Surely the Father of all could come and speak to us in educated well thought out language.

While I am mentioning death and destruction, why does God let the innocent peoples of the world (and their young children) perish from starvation and disease? Or from war and violence? Why doesn't he do anything about that?

Really wrecks God's credibility with me - at least the version of the holy entity who is supposed to be a thinking, living being - albeit supernatural. I'll stick with the concept that "God" is the same as Mother Nature. Nothing more, nothing less.

For that matter why don't the good Christians of the world begin to feed the hungry and give care to the sick and step into the line of fire to stop wars? Surely those mega-churches could be sold for millions of dollars to fund these efforts? Surely the promise of an eternity of paradise in heaven would remove your safety worries about traveling to the corners of the earth to tend to these sick and helpless?

Be a good person and quit judging those people around you. Ten Commandments?

I don't worry about what you choose to do with your spouse when the mood strikes you in your bedroom/couch/barn or kitchen.

Quit judging these people who simply love each other and want to be together. Who cares if they have the same body parts. Lets welcome them into mainstream society and ask the few that need a reminder that we ask them to respect the innocent eyes and ears and minds of our children and behave politely in public (not make a scene where they go with outlandish behavior, dress or speech). I don't make a scene in public (or private for that matter) with my wife and I respect the innocence of others.

[Jordan]

I am all for homosexual rights, but this article is just ridiculous. Animals might have some similarities to humans, but that doesn't mean we should mimic their behaviors. If you want to make a point for homosexual rights in democracy, perhaps you should consider the democratic ideal of equality, or maybe the democratic ideal for the pursuit of happiness. Just don’t start trying to compare us to animals.

[Otto Fong]

The reason scientists made the case is that same-sex pairings do occur in nature. The old war cry by a lot of people was that homosexuality is 'unnatural'. That statement is now proven wrong.

Rather than cry foul, look at the facts and go talk to a gay person. Religious teachings should be about compassion, understanding and love of all people, not a tool where we grow our hatred.

[Einstein]

Nature is beautiful and full of surprises.

[dudely]

Please...

All human behavior is natural. Doesn't mean I like it all, but it is still natural.

[Stanley James]

I'd like to add my comments on religion.

As a former Catholic who will cross the street rather then walk in front of a Cath church, all the church does is try to instill anxieties into people, anxieties that further it's goals.

It is one part of how you get people to follow - I'd call it terrorism, whether it is fear of punishment, e.g. hell, if you don't do as they say, which is everything from going to church to believing their lies and inuendos about others. And the other part of the pincers of the church, in which the parisioners are victims, is the promise of life forever, based on stories from an age of near total ignorance, where few other then in the churches even knew how to read or write, and the churches controlled what was published.

And lots of churches have stained glass windows which picture 'Satan' or fire breathing monsters. Today we call that subliminal advertising. It just reinforces messages without people even realizing that it is part of a sell job.

Jesus brought people back to life? - maybe it was just that the people were not really dead, heck a funeral director told me that even today, a handful of people are sent every year to funeral homes dead, and guess what -they turn out to be alive.

And Jesus cured the sick - hey maybe - ever heard of psychosomatic illnesses? Maybe he also had a secret - he cured people by feeding them bread. Moldy bread perhaps, cuz that green slime just happens to be the source of penicillian , the first of the wonder drugs. Quite possible, but a fact lost in history.

Everyone of us should be questioning, questioning, questioning what these churches say, what the bible says, written by church people to further their cause 1800 or so years ago. You might get your eyes opened, and realize that if there is something beyond life, it will surely go to those try to follow in Jesus footsteps and help the downtrodden, not hurt them further by trying to impose their own anxieties on whomever is the churches current whipping boy.

[Jeff]

Lets not attack the science behind this study based simply on this article. The science that this article is based on did not justify homosexuality. It simply said female birds raised offspring together. I can't stand when regulars like Greg take a journalistic article that is an interpretation of science and call it science. Lets not forget that this article was written by a journalist not a scientist. The science that was conducted was not just some made up theory. Gregs comments show a clear lack of scientific understanding.

[christians can be SCARY]

especially when THEY USE CAPS!!!

[Matthew]

Oh yes...................

While I congratulate those who support our gay citizens, I am reminded of the old

"love the sinner, hate the sin"

Which so quickly translates in the minds of so many as "hate the sinner"

And for those who talk about God's law, I thought this country was about freedom of religion, which includes freedom from religion - especially bad religion.

[Logan Ausherman]

most of you commenter's are idiots do you not realize that we may share some of the same genes as these birds. also not allowing gays to marry is a violation of the bill of rights. these people have private lives we should not infringe on their live because we think what they are doing is morally wrong. this is a secular nation which give every one the freedom of choice so no religious matters should play into this.

ps Christians this isn't a "Christain nation" if it was America wouldnt be the land of the free, it wouldnt be a democracy, it would be a theocracy

[Joe]

I just can't understand what everyone's problem is! How is allowing gays to marry hurting you in any way?! Do you believe that allowing two men or two women to get married will somehow cheapen your own marriage? How sad and superficial. Your marriage should be beautiful all on it's own, without having to compare it to others.

I'd like to see just one person make a valid, rational, scientific arguement against gay marriage that doesn't include anything about God, religion, or any personal beliefs of any kind. Not against homosexuality in general, but an arguement against gay MARRIAGE. Let's face it, there will always be homosexuals in the world. Denying them the right to marry doesn't make them ungay or invisible, all it does it hurt them.

Ah well, this too shall pass. There was a time when women couldn't vote and black children couldn't go to school with white children...

[hed1117]

Get a grip.

Gayness is a part of the human condition that always has and always will encompass a signifigant minority of EVERY population.

Gays that want to marry are just as likely to marry for the same reasons as those who are hetero ie love, dignity, legal benefits and for some, the ultimate human purpose of raising kids, which either means in vitro - an option for women, or adoption.

I believe there is documented evidence that the children of gay couples are as well adjusted as any others. I KNOW it from personal observation (family and friends).

Gay people are ... all different. But most are very civilized. Polite, considerate, intelligent...artistic!

So are "we" ie those who compare gays to animals throwing feces or whatever, vehemently anti-gay, or is it just the marriage part?

[John Terry]

Sure, lets allow Gay marriage because it is the humanely thing to do. Who are we to deny the feelings of two people in love? Hmm, two people? Lets think about this...100 years ago, gay or homosexual behavior was forbidden. What will happen in the next 100 years? Why not allow 2 men and 1 woman get married? Why not allow 3 women and 1 man get married? Why not allow 5 men or women get married? Heck, lets do what they do in India and allow a woman marry a monkey. Who cares about the physical and psychological trauma these types of unions (not marriages) will bring, it doesn't matter, they're all in "love".

[greenmill]

Slow news day & desperate for an article?

[Bruce, Colorado Springs]

I think it is ridiculous that some of you can't spell "ridiculous," especially since the comments entry box underlines misspelled words.

I am all for gay marriage, but I agree with the dissenters that this article really has nothing to do with humans.

[barn]

To the people saying hey, this is just birds, or that the article is talking about social behavior, not sexual: Just because the article does not *say* that the birds are attempting copulation, doesn't mean that isn't going on (what does female bird sex look like?). Even if these birds aren't having sex, homosexual intercourse has still been observed in dolphins, giraffes, bonobos (that last one is a at type of monkey). It is a natural act which is only immoral if your brand of morality includes actions that result in no harm to any individual or to the collective group.

[Cal]

It always cracks me up when people quote Bible verses like Im actually supposed to care what their religion thinks. The Bible is a rulebook for Christians that they CHOOSE to apply to their lives. I am not a Christian so it really has nothing to do with me. The Bible says God hates me...oh well..so what!

[Einstein]

good point, barn. several types of animals exhibit this behavior, including humans. we're mostly just familiar with human homosexuality. we learn to hate it because we're told to, or we read it in a book.

it seems albatross homosexuality doesn't offend anyone posting here, whatever their views. some assert it has nothing to do with the human condition. even if that's the case, why the fire and brimstone over one but not the other? is it because in the old testament - hardly unaltered by the hands of countless scribes - the illimitable superior spirit makes mincemeat out of toast out of humans in sodom but not albatrosses in oahu? is the bible too vague on gay birds for us to know whether to throw stones? how about gay bird marriage?

as for you fellow christians, please take note every 1/10 persons is gay, including those among our number. and yet when we meet them, we assume they are straight, because they are forced out of fear /we impose of them/ (not God) to hide their condition. we are the blasphemers, justifying hate. it sickens me to know that well-meaning christians perpetuate such suffering.

[t]

they don't allow creationism to be taught in schools
because we EVOLVED from primates
stop pushing your religion on others & using religion to justify your judging other people that do not share your religious views