They laid eggs together. They prepared for parenthood together. But Romeo and Juliet, the famous two swans residing in the Boston Public Garden (remember Make Way for Ducklings?) both turn out to be female, the Boston Globe reported Friday. Unfortunately, since the eggs were unfertilized, they did not hatch. Visitors have suggested artificial insemination so the pair can be parents after all.
Apparently, this is not an uncommon behaviour among swans if there is not an opposite-sex bird around. Swans will then stay with the same mate for life. 365gay.com reports further on this and other instances of gay and lesbian pairs in the animal world, a phenomenon one researcher calls “biological exuberance.” Somehow, I like that a whole lot better than “homosexual tendencies.”
No word yet on whether the swans will marry under Massachusetts law.
4:10 pm
Ephemera
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Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms » Blog Archive » Political Birds
on Sep 14th, 2005
@ 2:26 am:
[...] The New York Times reports today that many conservatives have taken the family lives of penguins, depicted in the blockbuster documentary March of the Penguins, as affirming “traditional norms,” and proof of “intelligent design.” Funny how these same conservatives seem to be ignoring examples of same-sex pairs among swans and other animals, including penguins. La Cage Aux Folles indeed. by D @ 2:20 am. Filed under Politics [link] [...]
Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms » Blog Archive » Lesbian Koalas
on Feb 25th, 2007
@ 4:41 pm:
[...] First lesbian swans, then gay penguins, now lesbian koalas. Researchers at the University of Queensland recently studied a group of 130 captive koalas and discovered the females attempting to mate with other females, sometimes with up to five others at a time. Good news in support of the view that same-sex attractions are as “natural” as opposite-sex ones, a phenomenon an earlier researcher has given the delightful name of “biological exuberance.” [...]
Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms » Blog Archive » More Biological Exuberance
on May 21st, 2007
@ 4:44 pm:
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Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms » Blog Archive » Make Way for Lesbian Swans
on May 5th, 2009
@ 6:04 am:
[...] females who laid eggs and attempted to care for them together, as the Boston Globe reported, and I discussed, a few years back. The eggs were unfertilized, alas, and there was no friendly keeper like And [...]