Customer Reviews
Some good points, but... - By: LBatik, 06 Feb 2004 
A fascinating book, but I couldn't give it an overwhelmingly positive review.
The following very valid points can be drawn from this largish survey of animal sexuality:
1. Sex (and sexual activity) feels good. Obviously for animals, as well as humans.
2. Animals can get very horny.
3. The "coy female" may just be a myth.
4. Animal sexual targets do not *necessarily* have to be fertile - or the opposite gender, or adult, or willing, or the same species, or even alive.
5. Sexual behaviour is inextricably, & complexly, linked with aggressive & social behaviour.
6. Many ethologists & biologists can be surprisingly squeamish at what they will acknowlege as being sexual behaviour.
That said, &in an obvious attempt to remedy problem 6., Bagemihl goes rather overboardin the opposite direction. It seems as if every behaviour which involves touching or which echoes courtship behaviour is described on a purely sexual level, regardless of what other functions it may have for aggression or social recognition. Sexual interpretations are also placed on every activity which resultsin genital arousal, such as hyena greeting ceremonies & fights over status, or bucks stropping antlers against vegetation; the question for any serious work needs to be, are these actually sexual activities, or is arousal just arousalin a far more general sense? Additionally,in the large portion of the book taken up by descriptions of the sexual behaviour observedin various species, B. classifies some _purely_ aggressive behaviours such as inter-gender attacks, infanticide & cannibalism under "alternative heterosexualities" - if there is a rationale for this, I missed seeing it.
An additional problem is that any even casual reader will be struck by just how anthropomorphic the author's language & apparent viewpoint is. Animals touching nozes or muzzles aren't touching muzzles, they are "kissing"; the split of a mated pair isn't simply the split of a mated pair, it is a "divorce." (I thought that was a legal status? When did wild animals start getting married?)
The book encompasses some 300 species - which is a reasonably large number, but is also far less than 1% of the bird & animal species out there. While it is justifiable to expect that surveys of more species would turn up more examples of "alternative" sexualities, it is truly impossible to judge just what the real proportion is of species that might try various behaviours. There is an inevitable sneaking suspicion that the author has included every species which has ever been recorded trying various "abnormal" sexual behaviours, simply leaving out all the species which have not ever been observed to do so. After all, the point that he is legitimately trying to make is that sexual behaviour can be more chaotic than is widely acknowleged.
The first part of the book is a very good critique of some of the prejudices apparentin scientific description of animal behaviours. It reinforces the point that personal & cultural beliefs inevitably colour interpretation of observed events, even for the most "objective" observers. For this perspective alone the book may be worth buying. The problem lies, however,in that he does not appear to apply this lesson to his own interpretations of behaviour. So, I would read this book as a balance & to add perspective to other readingsin ethology, but I would not use it as a primary or definitive source.
At least the first part of the book is very well referenced (the species descriptions somewhat less so), so if you are sufficiently motivated & have access to the resources, you can look up the original papers for yourself.
As to what relevance these behaviours might have for observed human behaviour - wisely, the author doesn't belabor the point too much, at least overtly. After all, humans are far more than simple bundles of instinct, & our big brains & the complexity of our interactions means that culture, personality & personal histories influence us at least as much as simple biology. The point is rightly made that not all "unnatural" behaviours are things never seenin nature, without attempting to place a moral interpretation on them or justify them on the grounds of being adaptive. In fact, Bagemihl levels some very relevant criticisms at the tendency to try to classify everything observed as "adaptive" - kudos to him for that, it is an issue not brought up enoughin biology. But again, he later muddies the waters by using heavily anthropomorphised descriptions of the animals.
"Exuberant" best describes the writing, as well. The book is a surprisingly fast read.
A fascinating account of Nature's "sex for the hell of it" - By: bobrichard@lineone.net, 31 Dec 1999 
The author easily demolishes the old orthodoxy that homosexuality occurs onlyin humans, but goes much further than that. He also demonstrates that sexualityin many species is a rich, varied, many-stranded celebration with no procreative objective at all - animals just do it 'cuz it's fun! It is this post-Darwinian theory of excess energy, the "exuberance" of Nature expressedin the endless variety of animal sexuality which is Bagemihl's real theme. The book is cleverly organised so that the reader can navigate around the text, garnering as much (or as little) scientific detail as he/she wishes to have to buttress the author's theories. (I became particularly intrigued by the prevalence of male giraffe homosexuality - i always knew those long necks & eyelashes were very camp, but ...) The most fascinating & exciting science book this non-scientist has readin years.
