Two male lions seen in gay sexual encounter in Kenyan national park

Animals spotted cuddling and mounting each other in Masai Mara

A wildlife photographer has captured a remarkable gay encounter between adult male lions. (Cover Images/Paul Goldstein)

A rare romantic encounter between two male lions has been captured in Kenya by a wildlife photographer.

The two lions were spotted in a secluded bush area on the Masai Mara, seen to be nuzzling and mounting each other.

Mating between male and female lions can often end in violence however after the two male lion’s encounter they were more affectionate

Wildlife photographer and guide for Exodus Travels, Paul Goldstein, saw the lions standing side-by-side before one lay down and the other mounted him.

Mr Goldstein told the Daily Mail: “I have heard of this happening in Botswana but with nothing like this vigour, and indeed at various zoos and safari parks, but incarcerated animals will do strange things, who can blame them.

“This however was astonishing. When lions mate it normally lasts a few seconds, these two were at it for over a minute and the obvious affection afterwards was very evident, as opposed to the violent withdrawal when male and female mate.

“Even as he dismounted he did not back off as is normal after mating, he crept round to the other male's muzzle, for a nuzzle and threw a conspiratorial wink his way.”

Homosexual relationships are not unheard of among animals (Cover Images/Paul Goldstein)

Although this is a rare occurrence between male lions, it is not unheard of.

Some biologists claim gay animal behaviour has been spotted in 1,500 different species, and reliably recorded in a third of these cases - roughly 450 species.

A 2010 study of Alaskan Albatrosses found that a third of the pairs actually consisted of two females.