Melbourne aquarium announces two same-sex penguin couples

An aquarium in Melbourne, Australia has announced that two of its newest penguin couplings, who have partnered up just in time for nesting season, are same-sex pairs.

Gentoo penguins Tiger and Branston, and Jones and Klaus are the newly formed couples at the Sea Life Melbourne.

Gentoo penguins have a bright orange beak, white stripe over the head and lovely pink feet. They are the third largest penguin species in the world, reaching a height of between 27-35″.

Since they can’t lay an egg, animal keepers would often give them a little help.

“Same-sex penguin pairs will court each other and incubate an egg exactly the same way as a male-female pair,” aquarium’s lead bird keeper, Tanith Davis, told the Australian Associated Press. “As male-male pairs can’t lay their own eggs, we will sometimes foster an egg from another pair.”

Gentoo penguins nest once a year, and they share parental responsibilities.

“Sea Life Melbourne has had many same-sex couples in our breeding history, and they have been doting parents,” she added.

Same-sex behavior is not uncommon in the animal kingdom, according to researchers.

A 2019 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Ecology and Evolution identified same-sex sexual behavior in more than 1,500 animal species.

In May 2019, the Oceanworld Aquarium in Dingle, Ireland, was happy to report that same-sex couples are the majority in community of its penguins. Among the total population of 14 gentoo penguins who live there, eight of them are in a committed same-sex relationship.

A month later, the London Zoo mounted a banner above its penguin beach, declaring: “Some penguins are gay. Get over it.”

Last year, zookeepers at the Oceanogràfic Valencia aquarium in Spain announced a new addition to their colony of 25 gentoo penguins. Electra and Viola, a female couple, became first-time parents after incubating and hatching an adopted egg.

Other famous same-sex penguin couples include Thelma and Louise, an elderly lesbian couple from Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium, New Zealand; and Sphen and Magic, a male couple who became the loving parents of an egg laid by a negligent heterosexual couple at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia.

Roy and Silo, a couple of male chinstrap penguins from New York City’s Central Park Zoo, made headlines for their very public six-year relationship.

Unfortunately, the pressure of being New York City’s celebrity penguin couple likely ruined their relationship, and Silo left Roy for another penguin — a female named Scrappy.