November 8, 2011 | Sex & Society

Too many gay penguins?

Two gay penguins trying to live their lives together at the Toronto Zoo may soon be forced apart by the cruel machinations of an administration obsessed with making baby penguins.

According to reports, African penguins Buddy and Pedro are inseparable. They have even shown signs of trying to mate. 

“They do courtship and mating behaviours that females and males would do," one keeper said.

But the zoo brought the boys to Canada to do some very important work: they are expected to mate with females and produce offspring. It is part of a plan to help increase the population of African penguins, which are endangered. 

“It’s a complicated issue, but they seem to be in a loving relationship of some sort," says Joe Torzsok, chair of the Toronto Zoo board.

Each year the world's population of African penguins decreases by about 2 percent, due to pollution and competition with commercial fisheries. The zoo wants to help change that.

Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at New York’s Central Park Zoo, were also a couple and incubated an egg together. They helped raise the chick, named Tango, after she hatched.

Given this is Canada, with gay marriage and all, can't we find a penguin surrogate and give Buddy and Pedro the same opportunity?

Same-sex penguin pair fascinates zookeepers [The Toronto Star]