“A unique and remarkable event” says scientist on the first-ever photographs of humpback whales having sex, confirmed to be two males. Image source: Ed Lyman/NOAA, via flickr.
The first-ever recording of humpback whales having sex involved two males, according to a recent scientific publication.
The Pacific Whale Foundation described the article as a “significant breakthrough in our understanding of humpback whale behavior”.
Though the humpback’s “intricate” social behaviour is well-studied, their sexuality had “remained mostly a mystery, even for whale experts”.
Photographers Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano recorded the tryst while recreationally boating off the coast of Maui, Hawai’i on 19 January 2022.
Krannichfeld and Romano contacted PWF chief biologist Stephanie Stacks, who identified both humpbacks as adult males.
Homosexual or otherwise, “humpback whale copulation has never been seen or documented before,” said Stacks.
The PWF had previously recorded the humpbacks involved as #PWF-NP_5016 (Whale A) and #PWF-NP_3754 (Whale B) in their catalogue.
The two humpbacks repeatedly circled the photographers’ boat when Whale B approached Whale A, “using its pectoral fins” to hold its companion in place and “initiating shallow, brief penetrations”.
Whale A appeared to be in poor health — thin, covered in whale lice, and possibly injured — while Whale B was reportedly in excellent condition.
The PWF notes that the “health disparity” between Whale A and B “adds a layer of complexity to this unique observation”.
The article suggests that Whale B was reinforcing a social bond with Whale A or expressing “dominance over a weak and injured competitor”, if it was not a mistaken attempt to mate.
The data, however, remains inconclusive.
Homosexual behaviour is widespread in the animal kingdom, documented in at least 261 mammalian species including fellow cetaceans dolphins, orcas, and grey whales.
“While we have long recognised the complex social structures of these incredible creatures, witnessing the copulation of two male whales for the first time is a unique and remarkable event,” Stacks told The Guardian.
Stack, Krannichfeld, and Romano published their article in Marine Mammal Science, which can be read in full here.
