PENGUIN PAPAS
COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 4 Jun 2009
‘Gay’ Penguins Raise Adopted Chick
Two male penguins at a zoo in Bremerhaven, Germany — who have been a pair for years — have hatched and raised an abandoned chick as their own.
A pair of male penguins has adopted an abandoned chick, now about a month old, at a zoo in Bremerhaven, Germany. Zoo veterinarian Joachin Schöne said Wednesday that the two Humboldt penguins took turns incubating the egg, which had been abandoned by its biological parents. Zookeepers had placed the egg near the two male penguins in the hope that they would care for it as their own. The experiment, so far, has worked.
The chick hatched at the end of April and the proud fathers Z and Vielpunkt — who have been a couple for years, the zoo said — quickly acted like surrogate parents. Every day they clean, protect and feed the little penguin a solid diet of pre-digested fish.
"They care for it in a very touching way — just like a heterosexual couple," Schöne said. The young penguin is not yet named and its gender is still unknown.
Three same-sex couples within the zoo’s collection of endangered Humboldt penguins garnered press attention in 2005 when Swedish females were brought in to encourage the penguins to reproduce. The attempt was unsuccessful. All the penguins remained with their chosen mates.
Homosexuality is not unusual in the animal kingdom, the zoo said. A given percentage of many species pair up with members of the same sex and even engage in sexual behavior. Male penguin couples have also been known to incubate eggs and raise chicks in other zoos around the world.
Humboldt penguins’ natural habitat — the coasts of Chile and Peru — has seen an overfishing of anchovy, their traditional prey. The collapse in fish population has caused penguin numbers to drop by somewhere between 12,000 and 20,000 birds.
GO TO ORIGINAL – SPIEGEL ONLINE
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Read more
Click here to go to the current weekly digest or pick another article:
COMMENTARY ARCHIVES: