No, youre not hallucinating. There really are gay elephants.While they may not be pink, they are engaging in homosexual behavior, according to park rangers in Sri Lanka, who say they frequently observe wild male elephants mounting and bonding with one another. Related Gay flamingo couple surprises caretakers by hatching a chick at zoo The elephant experts say fraternal interactions are a natural part of elephant social behavior, and are most easily seen during the dry season when herds gather en masse around water sources, The Daily Mirror reports.In Sri Lanka, the small South Asian island nation at the southern tip of India, those destinations include large reservoirs in two national parks, Minneriya and Kaudull, well-known for their large elephant populations. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Male elephants can be seen holding hands by intertwining their trunks, and grooming each other to show affection. They even put their trunks in one anothers mouths. Relationships between elephants of both sexes often last a lifetime.Across the Palk Strait in the Indian state of Tamil, two male elephants recently displayed these behaviors near the city of Gudalur.Two male elephants are showing affection near Gudalur in the Nilgiris dt of Tamil Nadu. . Elephants have good memory, can remember their friends & family for life. pic.twitter.com/SjJ9kFyFvr Tamil Nadu Geography (@TNGeography) August 18, 2025 Observers witness this behavior less often in the rainy season, when elephant populations disperse into the surrounding forests. That migration often coincides with mating season, when male elephants engage in intense fights to attract females, demonstrating physical strength and social dominance the losing bulls will often console themselves with one another.Similar same-sex interactions are seen across the animal kingdom, but for elephants, one of the most emotionally evolved species on the planet, the behaviors are a reflection of the animals terrifically complex social structures. Same-sex behaviors in animals of all kinds have been documented for millenniaAristotle (384322 BC) observed it in pigeons and quail; the Egyptian writer Horapollo (circa 4 AD) found it in partridges.Same-sex behaviors have been observed in over 1,500 species in every major animal group, and in every region of the planet including birds, insects, primates, reptiles, fish, invertebrates, and ocean mammals, according to a 2009 University of California study. Those behaviors can include sexual contact, courtship, affection, pair-bonding behaviors (like hugging, nuzzling, licking, and grooming), and even joining forces to raise offspring their own or another parents.However, scientists dont call animals gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer because the word connotes a human sexual orientation with strong cultural and political implications that are irrelevant to non-human species. Instead, most scientists will say that animals exhibit same-sex behaviors or homosexual behaviors. Scientists use these phrases to avoid anthropomorphizing animals and seeing them as imperfect copies of humans, biologist Marlene Zukexplained.Nevertheless, one Daily Mirror reader summed up reaction to the same-sex behavior, calling it a favourite Lanka pastime and activity. Even the animals living in our paradise engage in it.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.