Humpback whales captured mating for the first time were engaged in gay sex

The authors said that the whales were observed for approximately 30 minutes and that the encounter took place roughly 15 feet below the surface. They added that whether same-sex behavior between two healthy male humpback whales would occur remains unknown.

When the photographers returned home and looked at the photographs they had taken, Krannichfeld said, they immediately knew they captured “a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.”

“The whales are a big part of our lives here in Maui,” he said. “Everybody that’s involved with them and who photographs them kind of realizes that that’s never been captured. Mating and birth are the two main things that are still kind of unknown.”

Shortly afterward, Krannichfeld and Romano shared the photographs with Stack, who identified both whales as male.

Krannichfeld, who owns a photography gallery in Maui, said sharing the photographs with the scientific community was “an honor.”

“I’m constantly taking photos of the whales and essentially making a product off of them,” Krannichfeld said. “So it’s nice to be able to feel like I’m giving something back to the whales, help people understand them better.”

Same-sex behavior is common in the animal kingdom and has been well documented in other species. The study noted that it has previously been observed in a number of marine mammals, including walruses, Amazon river dolphins and gray seals. 

Perhaps no other species has gained such widespread attention for its same-sex behavior as penguins. Over the last several years, gay penguin couples in zoos in Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States have gone viral for taking care of eggs and raising baby penguins together.