In the animal kingdom, there are more examples of same-sex relations than colors of the rainbow.

Homosexuality is well-represented in the wild. According to an article in Yale Scientific, it has been estimated that about 10 per cent of species worldwide will display this type of coupling, and homosexual behavior has been documented in at least 450 different types of animals and observed in thousands of species.

Insects are represented among the naturally gay. In the first 30 minutes of their lives, for example, male fruit flies try to copulate with any other fruit fly, regardless of gender. It takes the males time to learn to distinguish the females with whom they can procreate.

Flour beetles take their male-to-male mating a step further. They deposit their sperm with their male partners. One hypothesis to explain this behavior is that the sperm might thereby get transferred to a female that the second male mates with, but clearly this isn’t guaranteed.

Birds, too, can go both ways.

For instance, for the Laysan albatross, a Hawaiian species, it is common for female couples to raise young. On the island of Oahu ­— where the gender ratio of male to female albatrosses of this species is two to three — 31 per cent of couples are made of two females who nest and raise young together. These young are the result of sexual activities with males that are already paired with other females. Interestingly, studies show that the female/female couples have greater reproductive success than the other traditional couples, and show superior care of offspring.

There are also penguins that practice same-sex mating rituals, and ostriches too. It has been estimated that two per cent of male ostriches “ignore females and court males with a lively dance that involves running toward your chosen partner at 30 mph, skidding to a stop in front of him, pirouetting madly, then ‘kantling,’ which includes crouching, rocking, fluffing your feathers, puffing your throat in and out and twisting your neck like a corkscrew.”

Clearly, true love can come in many forms and from either gender.

In the world of mammals, homosexual behavior can benefit an entire species. Dolphins exhibit short-term same-sex partnerships that serve to establish life-long bonds. In bonobos, 75 per cent of sex is non-reproductive, and nearly all bonobos are bisexual. This sexual behavior encourages procreation because it maximizes enjoyment of and therefore motivation for sex. And more sex means more offspring.

Sometimes, though, homosexuality may not serve procreative purposes. Domestic sheep exhibit lifelong homosexual pairings. Up to eight per cent of males prefer males, even if there are females available. Other animals form nonsexual bonds. Female grizzlies establish partnerships that include travelling together, defending each other and raising families together.

In other cases, it is about sex. Spartans in Ancient Greece — the toughest warriors known by modern criteria - encouraged homosexuality among elite troops. Leaders found that soldiers in sexual relationships were more likely to support, protect and rescue their lovers. It was a rational idea. 

Love makes the world go round, and who you love shouldn’t matter. American writer and feminist Rita Mae Brown observed, “The only queer people are those who don’t love anybody.”

Actor and comedian John Fugelsang hit the nail on the head when he explained, “Being gay is natural. Hating gay is a lifestyle choice.”

As Mother Nature seems to say loud and clear: Let love rule.

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature.