los pinguinos
Adorable, and some of the comments are hilarious. And yes, it is ironic that this is not even news - this occurrence is just normal behaviour, yet because of our cultural hang ups it makes even me go "awwww":
Gay penguin couple adopts abandoned egg in German zoo
CBC News article:
Keepers at Germany's Bremerhaven zoo couldn't get two penguin parents to take care of their egg, so they're trying an experiment - they gave the egg to a gay male penguin couple.
The biological parents "always rolled the egg out of their nest, they kicked it out again and again," zoo veterinarian Joachim Schoene said.
"Then we made the decision not to give it up and instead try to give it two fathers."
So far, the experiment has been a success. The two foster dads incubated the egg for 30 days until it hatched and have continued to care for the newborn chick.
The male penguins, named Z and Vielpunkt, are one of three same-sex pairs of Humboldt penguins at the zoo. That means almost a third of the zoo's 20 penguins who have attempted to mate exhibit homosexual behaviour.
The behaviour is not considered unusual because homosexuality has been well documented in the animal kingdom. Same-sex penguin pairs have also been observed at zoos in Japan and New York.
A similar experiment was performed at New York City's Central Park Zoo in 2004. Two male chinstrap penguins named Roy and Silo incubated an egg together and raised the chick when she hatched.
Z, Vielpunkt and their adopted chick have proven a hit with visitors to the Bremerhaven zoo.
Gay penguin couple adopts abandoned egg in German zoo
CBC News article:
Keepers at Germany's Bremerhaven zoo couldn't get two penguin parents to take care of their egg, so they're trying an experiment - they gave the egg to a gay male penguin couple.
The biological parents "always rolled the egg out of their nest, they kicked it out again and again," zoo veterinarian Joachim Schoene said.
"Then we made the decision not to give it up and instead try to give it two fathers."
So far, the experiment has been a success. The two foster dads incubated the egg for 30 days until it hatched and have continued to care for the newborn chick.
The male penguins, named Z and Vielpunkt, are one of three same-sex pairs of Humboldt penguins at the zoo. That means almost a third of the zoo's 20 penguins who have attempted to mate exhibit homosexual behaviour.
The behaviour is not considered unusual because homosexuality has been well documented in the animal kingdom. Same-sex penguin pairs have also been observed at zoos in Japan and New York.
A similar experiment was performed at New York City's Central Park Zoo in 2004. Two male chinstrap penguins named Roy and Silo incubated an egg together and raised the chick when she hatched.
Z, Vielpunkt and their adopted chick have proven a hit with visitors to the Bremerhaven zoo.