A pair of gay male penguins yearning to be parents has begun stealing eggs from heterosexual penguin pairs at a China zoo. The three-year-old penguins placed stones at the feet of the couples they stole from in an attempt to trick them, but the deception was noticed and the pair was ostracized by the group as a result. Zookeepers decided to break the pair up to keep the peace among the group.
From The Telegraph:
A keeper at Polar Land in Harbin, north east China explained that the gay couple had the natural urge to become fathers, despite their sexuality.
“One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs. Despite this being a biological impossibility for this couple, the natural desire is still there,” a keeper told the Austrian Times newspaper.
“It’s not discrimination. We have to fence them separately, otherwise the whole group will be disturbed during hatching time,” he added.
Homosexuality – or, more accurately, bisexuality – is not uncommon in the animal kingdom, and penguins in captivity are more likely to pair up with a member of their own sex than those in the wild. Experts have varying opinions on the reason, with some saying it’s a matter of convenience when there aren’t enough members of the opposite sex around and others saying young homosexual couples are just practicing for ‘the real thing’.
This isn’t the first time a pair of gay penguins made headlines – back in 2002, Roy and Silo were a devoted pair at the Central Park Zoo. Instead of stealing eggs, the pair rolled stones into their own nest to simulate incubating an egg. The chief keeper took pity on the pair and gave them an egg from a straight penguin couple that wasn’t being properly cared for. The pair did a great job raising their female chick, Tango, but broke up when a hussy named Scrappy – a female – caught Silo’s eye.
Link [The Telegraph] + [SF Gate]
Photo credit: And Tango Makes Three
