[Mishmash] FW: Australia rocked by 'lesbian' koala revelation [SEC=PERSONAL]

[David Brown]

Australia rocked by 'lesbian' koala revelation 
 
<http://dynamic.nzherald.co.nz/email/index.cfm?c_id=500834&objectid=10425714
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Sunday February 25, 2007
By Roger Dobson 

Female koalas indulge in lesbian "sex sessions", rejecting male suitors and
attempting to mate with each other, sometimes up to five at a time,
according to researchers. 

The furry, eucalyptus-eating creatures appear to develop this tendency for
same-sex liaisons when they are in captivity. In the wild, they remain
heterosexual. 

Scientists monitoring the marsupials with digital cameras counted three
homosexual interactions for every heterosexual one. 

"Some females rejected the advances of males that were in their enclosures,
only to become willing participants in homosexual encounters immediately
after," say the researchers. 

"On several occasions more than one pair of females shared the same pole,
and multiple females mounted each other simultaneously. At least one
multiple encounter involved five female koalas. 

"One theory put forward by the researchers is that the females do it to
attract males; another is that it is simply hormonal, or that it is a stress
reliever. 

Scientists from the University of Queensland studied 130 koalas in captivity
and will publish their results in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour
Science. 

"Our aim was to determine the extent of differences in the homosexual and
heterosexual behaviour of female koalas and thereby to determine the purpose
of female homosexual behaviour in the koala," say the researchers. 

"Wild koalas brought into captivity clearly display homosexual behaviour on
a regular basis. A total of 15 heterosexual and 43 homosexual interactions
were recorded in separate animals. Homosexual behaviour was restricted to
females only. Heterosexual encounters were 

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