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A scientist has reported what seems to be the first occurrence of same-sex passion among female gorillas.

Associate Professor Dr Cyril Grueter, a primate expert from the University of Western Australia, was examining the feeding patterns of gorillas in Rwanda when he made the stunning discovery.

He told Daily Mail Australia : "Instead of seeing aggression between females over food we saw them engaging in sexual behaviour which was quite surprising."

Dr Grueter learnt a majority of the female gorillas would turn to each other for sexual stimulation when rejected by males and obviously derived sexual pleasure from the act.

(Image: SHAADI FARIS/ CATERS NEWS)

Of the 22 female gorillas examined from 2008 to 2010, 18 engaged in sexual activity with other females, including 'genital rubbing,' 'genital closeness' and mating calls during intercourse.

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He also explained that the behaviour of the female apes appeared to be motivated purely by sexual arousal rather than attraction, and they were equally aroused by males and females.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE states that: "Twelve out of 43 homosexual events (28 per cent) involved at least one female that was also involved in a heterosexual act on the same/preceding/following day."

He told Daily Mail Australia: "'Its not necessarily that they have same-sex orientation, it’s purely sexual behaviour."

Dr Grueter also observed that females engaging in same-sex intercourse would often seek privacy by hiding in dense vegetation.

The academic said the study was significant as it might contribute to an understanding of the evolution of such behaviour in humans

He said: "'Gorillas are closely linked to humans and we thought by looking at this behaviour we could learn a little more about our own evolution."