These facts about homosexuality in animal and plant Kingdoms will blow Manny Pacquiao's mind

Sinabi ba ni Manny Pacquiao na walang homosexuality sa mga hayop? Teka muna. Akala ko ba merong "alimangong bakla". ha-ha-ha!

Scientific studies of plants and animals found homosexual behaviors of other living things other than human beings. Here are few of my finds. But before you go on reading, I will set it clear that I'm a straight guy. Just sharing this FYI.

Marine biologists will agree that the following story also happened to our tilapias and bangus - Studies show that in seeking mates, fish switch sex. Exactly how the female fish pull off their sex-changing stunt is not clear, though researchers say it's a natural phenomenon not connected to pollution or other man-made factors.In a 2006 University of New Hampshire lab study, female fish kept in coed tanks for nine months remained female. But in a group of female-only tanks, six out of 24 females switched sides... (...read more about this HERE)

Here  is a list of animals displaying homosexual behavior. You can read this in Wikipedia with enormous bibliography of references. Read it HERE

Here is an article that will blow Manny's mind. It says that "Homosexual behaviour is natural in the animal and plant kingdoms." Read it HERE  ....or continue reading the following reprint of the same article originally published in October 2006.: 

Homosexuality is quite common in the animal kingdom, especially among herding animals. Many animals solve conflicts by practicing same gender sex.

From the middle of October until next summer the Norwegian Natural History Museum of the University of Oslo will host the first exhibition that focuses on homosexuality in the animal kingdom.

"One fundamental premise in social debates has been that homosexuality is unnatural. This premise is wrong. Homosexuality is both common and highly essential in the lives of a number of species," explains Petter Boeckman, who is the academic advisor for the "Against Nature's Order?" exhibition.

The most well-known homosexual animal is the dwarf chimpanzee, one of humanity's closes relatives. The entire species is bisexual. Sex plays an conspicuous role in all their activities and takes the focus away from violence, which is the most typical method of solving conflicts among primates and many other animals.

"Sex among dwarf chimpanzees is in fact the business of the whole family, and the cute little ones often lend a helping hand when they engage in oral sex with each other."

Lions are also homosexual. Male lions often band together with their brothers to lead the pride. To ensure loyalty, they strengthen the bonds by often having sex with each other.

Homosexuality is also quite common among dolphins and killer whales. The pairing of males and females is fleeting, while between males, a pair can stay together for years. Homosexual sex between different species is not unusual either. Meetings between different dolphin species can be quite violent, but the tension is often broken by a "sex orgy".

Homosexuality is a social phenomenon and is most widespread among animals with a complex herd life.

Among the apes it is the females that create the continuity within the group. The social network is maintained not only by sharing food and the child rearing, but also by having sex. Among many of the female apes the sex organs swell up. So they rub their abdomens against each other," explains Petter Bockman and points out that animals have sex because they have the desire to, just like we humans.

Homosexual behaviour has been observed in 1,500 animal species

"We're talking about everything from mammals to crabs and worms. The actual number is of course much higher. Among some animals homosexual behaviour is rare, some having sex with the same gender only a part of their life, while other animals, such as the dwarf chimpanzee, homosexuality is practiced throughout their lives."

Animals that live a completely homosexual life can also be found. This occurs especially among birds that will pair with one partner for life, which is the case with geese and ducks. Four to five percent of the couples are homosexual. Single females will lay eggs in a homosexual pair's nest. It has been observced that the homosexual couple are often better at raising the young than heterosexual couples.

When you see a colony of black-headed gulls, you can be sure that almost every tenth pair is lesbian. The females have no problems with being impregnated, although, according to Petter Boeckman they cannot be defined as bisexual.

"If a female has sex with a male one time, but thousands of times with another female, is she bisexual or homosexual? This is the same way to have children is not unknown among homosexual people."

Indeed, there is a number of animals in which homosexual behaviour has never been observed, such as many insects, passerine birds and small mammals.

"To turn the approach on its head: No species has been found in which homosexual behaviour has not been shown to exist, with the exception of species that never have sex at all, such as sea urchins and aphis. Moreover, a part of the animal kingdom is hermaphroditic, truly bisexual. For them, homosexuality is not an issue."

Petter Bockman regrets that there is too little research about homosexuality among animals.

"The theme has long been taboo. The problem is that researchers have not seen for themselves that the phenomenon exists or they have been confused when observing homosexual behaviour or that they are fearful of being ridiculed by their colleagues. Many therefore overlook the abundance of material that is found. Many researchers have described homosexuality as something altogether different from sex. They must realise that animals can have sex with who they will, when they will and without consideration to a researcher's ethical principles."

One example of overlooking behaviour noted by Petter Bockman is a description of mating among giraffes, when nine out of ten pairings occur between males.

"Every male that sniffed a female was reported as sex, while anal intercourse with orgasm between males was only "revolving around" dominance, competition or greetings.

Now that's gay pride! Two male lions appear to be mating while lioness looks on confused - Daily Mail online (UK).

Masturbation is common in the animal kingdom

"Masturbation is the simplest method of self pleasure. We have a Darwinist mentality that all animals only have sex to procreate. But there are plenty of animals who will masturbate when they have nothing better to do. Masturbation has been observed among primates, deer, killer whales and penguins, and we're talking about both males and females. They rub themselves against stones and roots. Orangutans are especially inventive. They make dildos of wood and bark," says Petter Boeckman of the Norwegian Natural History Museum.

THE AQTIV GAME OF PLAYING BOW AND ARROWS

Inspired by the mechanics of typical gun shooting range and her love for archery that she acquired during her college days in UP Los Baños, Ms. Krizia Chu-Tranquilino, the owner and the General Manager of the Oculus Archery introduced the Aqtiv Archery by raising the level on how to play the bow and arrow. 

AQTIV archery opens on 30 January 2016 with Mayor Carlito dela Cruz or Porac, Pampanga as guest of honor to  the ceremonial ribbon cutting.

Aqtiv deviates from the game of hitting conventional stationary targets to a fun-filled way of shooting arrows on through moving objects or moving targets. In the new game, the stationary circular archery target (bull’s eye) is attached on target hidden behind moving objects. The game will require you to move around from one bull’s eye target to another, most of them are hidden behind swaying obstacles or that the target itself would sway back and forth as if it is trying to avoid getting hit. The degree of difficulty would trigger your adrenaline rush and make the game of shooting arrows a very challenging sport to play.

Aqtiv designed some of the targets by hiding them from your aim then reappear as if teasing your line of sight. Interestingly, the mechanism employed in hiding and moving targets uses no electricity or battery. It simply utilizes the earth’s gravity and the kinetic energy of pendulum-like weights - the first of its kind in the game of archery you can find in the country. 

The latch of the obstacle board is opened by stepping on this pedal-and-cable-operated mechanism. A line is drawn indicating where the cable is buried stretching towards the hanging board. When released, the obstructing panel will sway open from side to side and you have to shoot the target fast before the swaying stop and block permanently the target.

Future designs will include more targets that will sway away from your aim. Aqtiv is open to suggestions, such that we, who attended and covered the launching of Aqtiv Archery last week, suggested the putting up of a running or flying figures of animals as targets. I also suggested the optional use of native Aeta’s bow and arrow to promote the cultural heritage of Pampanga. Who knows, your suggestion could be what Aqtiv is mulling about.

The archer’s challenge is closely simulating to when engaging in pistol firing range. The player has to move, pause, aim, and hit those targets under time pressure. One has to complete the course in two minutes by moving on foot from one target to the next target, or adjust the playing time to 3 or 5 minutes depending on the mission’s level of difficulty. Competition can be done by ranking scores computed based on number of hits or the total length of time used and multiplied to 100 or use the formula of [number of hits/time] x [100].    

Featured target boards that were installed during the launching of Aqtiv Archery were figures of monsters on the wall. Player has to win and/or survive the game by shooting the monsters and kill them by hitting each dead spot marked with the usual archery bull’s eye target.  Aqtiv also provides costumes and headgear, and the player is encouraged to wear them to feel more of becoming a fighting archer. The themes and targets will change periodically. 

Some of the headgear provided by Aqtiv to participating archers

To begin with, visitors who are beginners to archery are encouraged to play the regular archery range with stationary targets at the Oculus Archery to learn the basic of target shooting using bow and arrow.The bows and arrows are authentic though beginners are not provided yet with the professional type of bows. One has to start pulling the string and arrow designed for beginners.

Children aged 7 and above are welcome to play the game as long they possess the strength to pull the string properly, and enough attention span to last a minimum of 30 minutes of staying in one shooting position.  There is no maximum age limit as long the elderly person is still capable to perform the same requirements of strength and attention to withstand. Playing archer must combine basic archery skills with agility and hand-eye coordination, and stamina to run through in the maze, and patient enough when shooting moving or hiding targets under time pressure.  

Regular archery range with stationary targets at the Oculus Archery - highly suggested to beginners in archery before trying Aqtiv game.

Shooting lessons for beginners is also offered. You can avail of 30 minutes archery lesson for P250.

Some restrictions are imposed in the archery arena, such as that players are not allowed to wear jewelry, loose or sharp hard objects, or keep valuable items in pockets, as these might be thrown away or cause unnecessary distractions, injury or mishaps. 

Appropriate footwear is also required, such as wearing sneakers or any pair of sport shoes.  Wearing slippers and sandals are not allowed. Wearing of high heels or office leather shoes is not advisable. Only the bows and arrows provided by Aqtiv are allowed inside the arena.

Rate for Aqtiv Archery is P250 per attempt but you can also avail of the Archery Package at P400, which includes a 30-minute session for Target Archery.

Youtube: How to play the game of AQTIV Archery

You can now play the game in the labyrinth-like arena of Aqtiv Archery within the compound of Oculus Archery at the Sandbox in Alviera, Porac, Pampanga. 

You can book a game in Aqtiv Archery by visiting the Sandbox on Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:00AM to 5:00 PM. Booking details are available on http://www.alviera.ph/ and on http://www.facebook.com/AlvieraPH. 

For more info, email info.alviera@gmail.com or contact 0917-803-3099 / (045) 432-0014.

Aqtiv Archery was launched last week (30 January 2016) and operated by the Oculus Archery. It can be found in the Sandbox in this sprawling 1,100 hectares of Alviera in Porac Pampanga, master-planned and developed by the Ayala Land in partnership with Leonio Land.

Other than archery, visitors to the Sandbox will find more adventurous games and fun. Thrill-seekers can have the Giant Swing, the country's tallest swing at 10 meters high that will surely give that exhilarating  swing through the air.

You can also scale the 15-meter tall Adventure Tower through Wall Climbing, Rappelling, and Free Fall. Reach the top and get the best views within and around Alviera. 

The Sandbox also offers ATV and mini-ATV rides. 

ATV adventure is among the exciting rides you can find in the Sandbox

The Avatar-One, the first roller coaster zipline in Asia  that brings daring visitors 180 meters up and down glides while hanging through the lines and curves.

There is a themed kiddie playground with picnic areas, mini-golf, a courtyard and an open field for field sports and other outdoor activities.

Aerial Walk is not just about being up in the air walking along the stretches of ropes. Here, the skywalker is engaging lots of challenges and excitements that you will feel victor after accomplishing one whole course.   

House Rules - A must read before trying any ride or game.

The property will have residential communities, shopping and dining establishments, offices, and academic institutions as it becomes the new regional growth center of Luzon. Other attractions to be launched this year include a 3-hectare Urban Karting, Airsoft, and Paintball facility together with the opening of restaurants. Watch out also for the upcoming exciting signature events such as the summer music and camping festival, the Brightscape Campfest.

The Sandbox's open-space parking is so wide to accommodate all the cars. The place is quite remote that you have to bring your car to get here. 

Some tricycles from Porac, and occasionally from Mabalacat,  can also be hired for those who commute their way to the Sandbox of Alviera. The tricycles are waiting along the road nearby the  main entrance of Alviera to transport commuting visitors back to Porac and Mabalacat.