Gay penguin couple at Munich Zoo adopt rock in absence of chick to care for
The gay penguins at Munich Zoo are brooding over a stone. (Hellabrunn Zoo/Marc Müller)
A gay male Humboldt penguin couple at Munich Zoo are brooding over a rock because they have no egg to care for.
The revelation was made when Munich Zoo joined in with the city’s Pride week by giving a tour of the zoo’s gay animals, which include penguins, giraffes and lions.
As the tour passed the penguin enclosure, the guide pointed out that the two black-faced male penguins squatting together were trying to hatch a rock, whereas other mixed-gender penguin couples were brooding eggs.
According to the AFP, biologist Guenter Strauss said that the gay male pair were not having a “one-off fling” but were in a committed relationship.
“Penguins conduct homosexual relationships that can last a whole lifetime, something very rare in the animal kingdom,” he said.
Gay penguin couple are not the only gay animals
Other gay animals include giraffes and lions.
“Giraffes are bisexual. In some groups, 90 percent of the acts observed are in fact homosexual in nature,” explained Strauss.
And, Strauss said, while lionesses only display lesbian behaviour in captivity, “Eight percent of sex acts among lions are homosexual.”
Munich Zoo gave the Pride-week tour seeking to boost acceptance of LGBT+ identities.
“It is important for us to talk about” homosexuality in the animal kingdom and show that same-sex love has its place in nature, said Munich zoo spokesman Dennis Spaeth.
“Because unfortunately in Germany we see more and more people from the reactionary right attacking LGBT+ rights,” he said.
Munich is the capital of the German state of Bavaria, which legalised same-sex marriage in 2017.
Last year, Bavarian police records show there were 91 attacks based on sexual orientation against LGBT+ people.
London Zoo’s penguin beach had a makeover for Pride month to celebrate the three same-sex penguin couples that live there.
A mini banner that said, “Some penguins are gay, get over it,” was erected in the enclosure, an homage to Stonewall’s iconic “Get Over It” campaign.
Humboldt penguins Ronnie and Reggie are the zoo’s most famous gay residents, but there is also another same-sex male couple and a same-sex female couple.
