This gay penguin couple have been caught trying to steal other couples’ eggs
Two gay penguins in a Chinese zoo have been seen stealing eggs from straight couples.
The penguins at Polar Land in Harbin said the gay parents had a strong instinctive urge to become parents.
A zookeeper said: “One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs.
“Despite this being a biological impossibility for this couple, the natural desire is still there.”
The gay couple had tried to hide their antics by replacing the eggs with stones.
But after the other penguins noticed, they began to cast out their gay peers.
So zookeepers have moved the gay couple out temporarily.
“It’s not discrimination,” they said.
“We have to fence them separately, otherwise the whole group will be disturbed during hatching time.”
Last November, two penguins celebrated 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 it’s 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.
