Gay snakes

When a male detects a possible mate nearby, he licks the female with a quick flick of his tongue. While young, small females do get action, they aren't the preferred mates. In the new study, the researchers implanted male garter snakes in their gay snakes environment, each with a capsule that raised their estrogen levels to approximately match those of female snakes.

Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter livescience and on Facebook. After one year of these estrogen supplements, the male snakes started secreting a pheromone that seemed to cause other males to swarm to them, forming clumps of writhing snakes tangled together.

Roy and Silo, two Central Park Zoo male chinstrap penguins similar to those pictured, became internationally known when they successfully hatched and cared for an egg they were given. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University.

Intense competition ensues, as males swarm and tongue female snakes in an effort to be the first to mate with her. Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation and the U. Environmental Protection Agency.

Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Estrogen, the researchers found, is key to a female's release of pheromones and thus, reproduction. [1] Couple of male mallard ducks in a nature reserve in Germany For these animals, there is documented evidence of homosexual behavior of one or more of the following kinds: sex, courtship, affection, pair.

Common Garter Snake Within this type of snake we can observe sex as a means of reproduction. The chemical cues, called pheromones, exuded by the females are so strong it takes but an instant, the researchers say, for the male to determine the other snake's species, sex, population, reproduction condition, size and age.

She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. Garter snakes, gopher snakes, and rattlesnakes all exhibit “queer” behavior of various types, but the gayest of all are flower pot snakes, all of whom are gay snakes.

The males tend to choose the larger, more mature gals, because these females can produce more babies; they also have a slightly different chemical signature in their pheromones. Here's how it works: For the red-sided garter snake, picking up a mate takes but a second and a flick of the tongue.

Every spring, tens of thousands of these garter snakes emerge from their limestone caves north of Manitoba, Canada, for mating. The frenzy appears as twisting balls of snakes called mating balls. In fact, the males are totally dependent on these pheromones for snake reproduction.

The finding, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, has implications for understanding the environmental impact of compounds that mimic the effect of estrogenfound in some chemicals and pesticides.

Male Garter Snake Tricks : In the case of the garter snake, the benefits of male-male courtship behaviours are very different

Give a male garter snake a taste of estrogen and watch out, as the hormone turns these lads into the sexiest thing on the block, attracting dozens of other males eager to mate. Snakes embody many different characteristics that fall in line with our idea of queer, this is why they are a wonderful animal representation for the LGBTQ+ community.

The other males, in fact, preferred the male snakes with boosted estrogen levels to the small female snakesthe researchers found.

When the researchers stopped giving the males estrogen, they reverted back to their normal behaviors. Once they mate, the females emit a different pheromone, confirming "no more sex," causing other males to lose interest and leave the area.

Apparently, the estrogen caused the males to secrete "female" pheromones.