This gay penguin couple are celebrating their 10th anniversary
Two penguins are celebrating their 10th year of partnership, as a gay couple.
Dotty and Zee are two Humboldt penguins that reside at Bremerhaven Zoo in Germany.
Scientists have found that more than 450 species of animals display gay behaviour.
They have been together for over a decade now and are completely inseparable.
At first, the couple were left to their own devices as the zoo did not yet realise both Dotty and Zee were male penguins.
However, after a few years of dedicated partnership the pair had a DNA test.
In 2005 the test revealed their gender, as well as the answer to why they hadn’t yet started a family.
Dotty and Zee are not the only gay couple in the zoo either. Of the 10 penguin pairs at the zoo, three are gay male couples.
A vet at Bremerhaven explained that the species were endangered, so to encourage breeding they flew in 6 females from Sweden.
He said: “This is one of the most endangered species we have in the world we have maybe only 2000 of the species left.”
The attempt to encourage breeding was unsuccessful, but proved the dedication between the couples.
“The three gay couples stayed together showing us that they are really strong relationships,” the vet added.
Dotty and Zee have built a nest every year, a clear indication that they wanted to start a family.
2009 was their lucky year as they were gifted an egg that was rejected by its mother.
The penguins took on the shared responsibility of incubating the egg and acted like good fathers by sharing the feeding work and doing everything necessary for the baby.
For the adorable couple, it was a story of success as they beat all the odds.
