Dopamine – Also activated by cocaine and nicotine.

Norepinephrine – Otherwise known as adrenaline.

Serotonin – May actually make you temporarily insane.

These are the chemical compositions of what our brains recognize as attraction and, when combined with estrogen, testosterone, oxytocin and vasopressin: love.

Of course, they affect many other bodily functions, including mental capabilities and appetite.

They’re all chemicals, they’re all a natural part of living, and every animal on the planet is capable of producing them in order to experience some level of love or attachment.

So why would anyone ever suggest that love is unnatural?

I’ve heard far too many times from far too many “educated” individuals that homosexuality is wrong because it goes against nature.

These people clearly don’t know how to use the internet because, if they did, then they would know homosexuality has been documented in over 1,500 species, with same-sex partners seducing their hetero counterparts and stealing young from them, or adopting abandoned young.

While it would be impractical to sit here and list every single one of those 1,500+ species that understand that love and partnership go beyond the level of human comprehension, a short list of 10 species will be much easier to manage.

Snails

As a rather new addition to the list of animals documented as having engaged in homosexual acts, snails are honored to have aegista diversifamilia among them, named so in support of gay marriage. Aegista diversifamilia are hermaphrodites, which means they have both male and female reproductive organs. Scientists claim they represent the ‘diversity of sex orientation in the animal kingdom.’

Giraffes

Surprisingly, or rather, impressively, 94 percent of all observed sexual activity in giraffes is homosexual. Male giraffes have a flirting technique (which is also occasionally used to show dominance) found nowhere else on Earth.

It’s called ‘necking’ and involves two males standing side-by-side while gently rubbing their necks on each other’s head, neck, body, loins and thighs for as long as an hour.

This practice leads to sexual arousal and can sometimes bring about an orgasm all on its own; the males do sometimes mount each other and finish that way.

I can hear it now—”they only do that when there aren’t females around!”

Wrong.

Even when both male and female giraffes are in abundance, males like to neck with other males and ignore the females.

Sea Lions

More than 80 percent of New Zealand Sea Lion males exclusively mate with other males. Normally, it’s a result of play-fighting—two males stand chest-to-chest and push against each other. One of them eventually achieves victory and mounts the other, which is why younger sea lions are more likely to mount older males.

Dolphins

Not quite as impressively as above species, three quarters of all bottlenose dolphins are in same-sex pair-bonds, and many of them mate for life. Some biologists have documented a long ‘mourning’ period if one partner dies, and if the surviving partner searches for a new male companion, it will likely be unsuccessful unless he can find another “widower.”

There are also cases of female Spinner dolphins ‘riding’ on each other’s dorsal fin, and same-sex dolphin orgies are called “wuzzles.”

That’s a little too adorable.

Vampire Bats

Just behind dolphins in the running, between one half and three quarters of all vampire bat companionships consist of females. To show commitment, one female feeds the other by regurgitating blood for her to eat, sort of like birds do for their young. This behavior can mean that the pair has been together for 10 or more years.

Killer Whales

One third to more than one half of all male killer whales engage in gay sex, especially the adolescents of the species, and some have favorites that last for years.

Billions of bugs and spiders

Yep, up to 85 percent of 110 species spiders and insects are engaging in gay sex in our very own homes. Some researchers suggest that bugs have evolved to not discriminate in their mating choices.

This could be because it would be worse to pass up mating with a female than it would be to mate with another male by mistake. Others say that homosexual behavior in insects and spiders holds no clear benefit to the species and that it could be innate.

Penguins

Probably the most well-known on the list, penguins are famous for stories of lifelong relationships between same-sex pairs. Some males will seek out another male if their partner has died, and gay penguin couples are often noted to be good ‘parents.’

Anywhere from five to ten percent of zoo penguins are in same-sex pair-bonds.

Flamingos

Monogamous flamingo pairings may consist of two males, two females or a male and a female. Same-sex couples are documented as adopting flamingo chicks that are abandoned by their parents, as happened at Edinburgh Zoo.

Bonobo

Also unique to their species, female bonobos have sex by rubbing their genitals together. Some scientists believe that the particular shape and location of the bonobo’s genitals have evolved specifically for lesbian sex.

Even as few as ten examples of over 1,500 species prove that homosexuality and bisexuality are completely natural, yet there are people who insist otherwise. They’d probably suggest doing a study on how many species are against homosexual behaviors, but we already know the answer: only one.

All information is gathered from recent studies published on GSN or in the Bruce Bagemihl book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity.