Pedro and Buddy came to the Toronto Zoo this year from Pittsburgh's National Avairy to "pair bond" (aka get hooked up with a couple females). Instead of pursuing the eligible females, Pedro and Buddy became quite the love birds. The cute couple were snuggling, calling to each other, and displaying courtship behaviour. Cute, right? Well until the fact that these African penguins are flirting with extinction...
The Toronto Zoo has decided to isolate the pair for the sake of their species survival. Mr. Mason, curator of birds and invertebrates at the Toronto Zoo, explains the following:
“The two girls have been following them; we just have to get the boys interested in looking at them... If [Pedro and Buddy] weren’t genetically important, then we’d let them do their thing"
They want to be clear that their separation of the homosexual penguins is by no means trying to be anti-gay. The zoo simply cannot afford to go a season without passing on the penguins' genes.
I am curious to see if the males will even be interested in the females. Thoughts?
