Gay Penquins now proud parents.

Gay penguins now proud parents
2009-06-03 22:20

Berlin - Two homosexual penguins have successfully hatched an egg that was rejected by its parents and are now proudly rearing the chick, the German zoo housing the couple said on Wednesday.

"Z and Vielpunkt, both males, gladly accepted their 'Easter present' and began straight away with hatching the egg," the zoo in Bremerhaven in northern Germany said.

"Since the chick arrived they are behaving in the same way as one would expect a heterosexual couple to do. Both happy fathers are now diligently handling the everyday care... of their adopted offspring," the zoo said.

Z and Vielpunkt are part of a six-strong gay community among the zoo's collection of endangered Humboldt penguins who rose to fame in 2005 when four Swedish females were brought in an unsuccessful attempt to "cure" them.

"Homosexuality is nothing unusual among animals," the zoo said on Wednesday. "Sex and coupling up in our world do not necessarily have anything to do with reproduction."

The Humboldt penguin is normally found on the coast of Chile and Peru, but numbers have dropped to between 12 000 and 20 000 as industrial fishing methods have led to dwindling stocks of the anchovies on which they feed.

- AFP

original article: Gay Penguins

That happened in the Central Park Zoo too! I forget the baby penguins name, but there's a children's book about him. There was a pair of male penguins who were coupled, and they had adopted a rock as an egg, so the zoo gave them a real egg and they hatched and raised it.

My sister-in-law got me that children's book about the Central Park penguins and I had no idea what it was all about. I started reading and had to chuckle. My girls thought it was neat they had two daddies.

What makes them gay?

How about if they live together in a monogamous relationship and are sexually active? http://www.emperor-penguin.com/gay-penguins.html

How long have Wendell and Cass been living together up there?

Six or seven years.

And had they been with female penguins before?

No, they've always been with each other since they pair-bonded. They've never been with anyone else.

But you didn't suspect they were both male until when?

A couple of years ago. When I first started [working with them], I started thinking that they were both males based on their behavior. We did a blood test for other reasons and were able to determine that they were both male. [Blood tests are the only way to determine the sex of a penguin.]

How do Wendell and Cass have sex?

They're doing the same thing as a male and female would, though obviously not producing any eggs. But the copulation is the same. I can give you specific details ...

Go ahead.

Penguins are birds and all the sexual organs are on the inside of their bodies -- it's called the cloaca. The urogenital opening is where they defecate as well as have sex. It's just this little hole in their rump area.

And it's called the cloacal kiss: What happens is that the female will lay on her belly and the male climbs on top with his feet and puts his rump around her rump and their cloacas meet each other, and then the sperm gets transferred into the female.

So Wendell and Cass do the same thing.

Right. Just without the eggs.

Who gets to be on top? Or do they take turns?

Now I know how gay penguins have sex. I learned something today. :eek

Wowie. Thanks for sharing!

I can't wait to see more research on this.

the latest edition of Scientific American Mind is all about sex, with several articles devoted to sexuality in the animal kingdom. Interesting stuff.

I'm late to the party but if you're interested in "animal sex" read "Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice To All Creation". It's both scientific and fun to read. It is a marvelous read and it also has lots of little fun information. For example, did you know that like us dolphins have lots of recreational/creative sex (like having sex with each other's blowhole)? :P

you said blowhole! :p ;) :D

Interestingly enough, I heard the male penguin just left the other male penguin for a female penguin.

A bisexual penguin.....I love it!!