For the first time, a gay penguin couple is raising a cub at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York. The chick was born on New Year’s Day 2022 and weighed 230 grams at the time.
Why don’t your parents take care of your offspring? Because they repeatedly destroyed their own eggs!
Humboldt penguins Elmer and Lima share a nest after falling in love with each other last fall. The animal keepers had previously tested their brood care behavior with a dummy egg.
Then: Not every pair of penguins is also suitable for raising offspring, explains zoo director Ted Fox to the broadcaster CBS. “Some pairs sit on the nest but don’t notice when the egg rolls to the side. Others argue about who gets to sit on the egg and when. But Elmer and Lima were exemplary in every way of caring.”
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Once Elmer and Lima have had enough experience with the offspring, the keepers will also consider them as foster parents for more eggs.
homosexuality in penguins
The birds (6 and 3 years) are by no means the first of their kind of the same sex to act as foster parents. In 2020, for example, two female penguins hatched a foreign egg in Spain.
The penguin fellows Sphen and Magic from the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium also became famous for their loving care for their offspring. In December they already celebrated their third anniversary! The couple is already a role model in the penguin colony, explains zoo keeper Kiera Ponting from Sydney: “We have noticed that many newer penguins build their nests near Sphen and Magic. They probably want to learn from the best.”
In any case, the two penguin guys are “still inseparable,” reveals Ponting. “It shows how strong bonds are between penguins.”
