Not natural?

[Scooter]

Are Buddy and Pedro, two African penguins at the Toronto Zoo, gay?

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but their keepers have noticed the two are inseparable, and perhaps most telling, they’re showing signs of mating behaviours.

There are other cases of gay penguins — zoos in New York, Japan, Germany and Sea World Orlando have seen examples.

As part of an experiment a few years ago, Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at New York’s Central Park zoo, incubated an egg together and raised the chick, named Tango, after she hatched. A children’s book about them called And Tango Makes Three was a smash best seller.

But in Toronto, Buddy and Pedro’s relationship, however you describe it, is destined to come to an end soon because they have a duty. They have top-notch genes, so the zoo intends to separate them from each other and pair them with females for breeding.

Given that African penguins are endangered, the move falls within a species survival plan among zoos.

Buddy, 20, and Pedro, 10, are in Toronto as part of the popular African penguin exhibit that opened at the zoo in May. The two, bred in captivity, were part of a group of 12 penguins — six male, six female — that came to Toronto from zoos in the U.S.

Buddy and Pedro arrived from Toledo, Ohio, where they formed a connection as members of a bachelor flock.

Their relationship, referred to as “pair bonding’’ in zoo speak, continued after they arrived here, say their zoo keepers. Scientists don’t use the words gay or straight when it comes to sexual orientation in animals.

During the day all 12 penguins generally swim and frolic together in their enclosure, which includes a massive pool with underwater windows for the public to view.

But at night Buddy and Pedro pair off together. Every night.

“They do courtship and mating behaviours that females and males would do,’’ one keeper said in an interview.

Those behaviours include making a “braying’’ sound, almost like a donkey, as a mating call. They defend their territory, preen each other, and are constantly standing alone together. In fact when the Star visited the exhibit this week Buddy emerged from the water, followed a few moments later by Pedro. The two huddled together for quite some time.

Their relationship is somewhat of a delicate issue for the keepers to discuss with outsiders. But they’ve all noticed the pair’s bond, and talk about it among themselves.

“This is all new for us,’’ said another keeper, pointing out that the zoo hasn’t had African penguins on display since 1993.

“It’s a complicated issue, but they seem to be in a loving relationship of some sort,’’ says Joe Torzsok, chair of the Toronto zoo board.

It’s not unusual for some species of animals to exhibit homosexual tendencies. Giraffes, some dolphins and some monkeys are known to form same-sex bonds. The case of the Central Park penguins was similar to one at a zoo in Germany where two male penguins did the same thing.

[Joe Guy]

Buddy, 20, and Pedro, 10, are in Toronto as part of the popular African penguin exhibit that opened at the zoo in May.

If the ages are accurate & the suspected homosexual behavior turns out to be true, Buddy is a child molester.

This is not good press for African Penguins, especially those in the homosexual community.

[Gob]

Video on page here.

[The Hen]

The have found a soulmate in captivity who makes the passage of time bearable.

Bless.

[BoSoxGal]

It's sad that they will be forcibly separated. I hope the find love with their female mates, too.

[GrossDad]

Buddy, 20, and Pedro, 10, are in Toronto as part of the popular African penguin exhibit that opened at the zoo in May.

If the ages are accurate & the suspected homosexual behavior turns out to be true, Buddy is a child molester.

This is not good press for African Penguins, especially those in the homosexual community.

According to this site, African penguins in the wild reach sexual maturity somewhere between 2-4 years of age. Buddy may be a chicken hawk, but he's not a child molester.

[rubato]

It's sad that they will be forcibly separated. I hope they find love pairbond with their female mates, too.

Anthropomorphizing is a temptation, resist it.

yrs,
rubato

[loCAtek]

Entirely natural, rabbits are even known to tri-bond. ..and my two female bunnies show mating behavior- [mounting] it makes them happy ...so what?

I'm sorry some feel Buddy and Pedro, should be separated. Couldn't they just be given an egg to raise like Roy and Silo?

[The Hen]

It's aardvark telling em apart!

Ernesto the lovelorn anteater gets a German wife called Erica to start a family - only for zoo to discover 18 months later that Erica is an Eric.

Sometimes it takes a little time to make a relationship work.

At least that’s what zookeepers in Hampshire thought as they spent 18 months trying to ignite a little passion between lonely giant anteater Ernesto and Erica, a mate shipped in from Germany especially to keep him company.

Despite their best efforts, however, the pair seemed to experience feelings of naked aggression rather than affection.

For he was only too well aware of something his human handlers hadn’t realised .  .  . that Erica was in fact an Eric.  
The extraordinary blunder came about because anteaters have small and well-concealed sexual organs, making it difficult to distinguish males from females.

Zookeepers at Marwell Wildlife near Winchester discovered their error after anaesthetising the German animal and examining it under a microscope.

John Pullen, curator of mammals, said: ‘We wanted to be part of a breeding programme because Ernesto is one of the most popular attractions at the zoo and giant anteater numbers are low.

'We found a female mate for Ernesto at a zoo in Germany and brought her over.

‘When Erica arrived, we spent some time mixing them so that they could get used to each other. They were a little aggressive to each other but that isn’t unusual at first.

‘But it transpired that something was wrong. They became very aggressive and just didn’t get along. We got Erica out to have a closer look and it turned out she was a he.

‘Anteaters can be quite dangerous. They have really sharp claws, so we didn’t take the decision to do something like that lightly.’

Staff had separated Ernesto and Erica for the first two months using a glass screen dividing the pen. The screen was punctured with small holes so they could touch noses, and the encounters were watched closely by keepers.
The pair were then gradually allowed to spend more and more time mixing with each other in the same pen.
Anteaters live for up to 26 years, can grow to 7ft long and weigh as much as 100lb.

The giant anteater is the largest species of anteater and is known for its long nose, used to ferret out ants and termites. The species is under threat of extinction in its native ­Central and South America.

But at least it seems a happy ending is in store for seven-year-old Ernesto. He now has a new mate, from Denmark, who has proved beyond doubt that she is a she.

‘We know we’ve got a female because she has had a baby previously,’ Mr Pullen said.

‘Already they get on really well. I’m confident we will have a baby anteater on its way.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1dYrA9Ri1

[Rick]

In this cell yer MY bitch...

[rubato]

Anteaters are nice!

I'm glad he got a properly-gendered companion.

yrs,
rubato

[loCAtek]