On Tue, 29 Nov 2005, ravi wrote:
> Regarding the above: Miles, is it true that there is no exclusive
> homosexuality in primates? Given that: (a) there is evidence of
> homosexuality in primates, such as bonobos,
No, bonobos are more or less "pansexual": they engage in all sorts of sexual activity--they're not exclusively heterosexual or homosexual. In fact, I was thinking of the bonobos as a good example of my claim when I wrote the previous post.
> (b) a strong male hierarchy
> with an alpha male who dominates, we could hypothesize that of
> necessity, some males (despite behind-the-alpha's-back sexual escapades)
> experience nothing but homosexual sex. If true, perhaps you do not count
> this as an instance of exclusive homosexuality, since its not voluntary?
Females in the harems are notorious for "sneaking off" to have sex with the rogue males. Even in groups like gorillas, alpha males have less control over female sexuality than it appears. Most males have plenty of opportunities to have heterosexual relations in these primate groups.
Miles