Buddy And Pedro, 'Gay' Penguin Couple, To Be Separated By Toronto Zoo (PHOTOS)

The planned separation of a "gay" penguin couple at the Toronto Zoo is causing a commotion both among zoologists and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media.

As the Toronto Star is reporting, Buddy and Pedro have not only been inseparable, but have also shown signs of traditional mating behaviors. Bred in captivity, 10-year-old Pedro and Buddy, 20, came to Toronto from zoos in the U.S. as part of a popular African penguin exhibit which opened at the zoo in May, and formed a connection as members of a "bachelor flock," according to the Star. "It's a complicated issue, but they seem to be in a loving relationship of some sort," said Joe Torzsok, chair of the Toronto zoo board.

But sadly, even though the pair frequently engage in "courtship and mating behaviors that females and males would do," according to one keeper, zoo officials say they intend to separate the birds from each other and pair them with females for breeding, as African penguins are an endangered species.

Same-sex companionship among penguins is actually quite common. In 2009, Z and Vielpunkt, two male Humboldt penguins at Germany's Bremerhaven Zoo, became the proud parents of a healthy penguin chick hatched from an egg fertilized by another penguin couple. Another such pair at China's Polarland Zoo was even given a wedding celebration, as The Sun is reporting.

And, as LiveScience reports, homosexuality has been documented in more than 450 species of vertebrates, "signaling that sexual preference is biologically determined in animals."

UPDATE: Bill Rapley, executive director for conservation, education and wildlife at the Toronto Zoo, now tells the National Post that Pedro and Buddy’s separation will only last as long as it takes for them to inseminate their respective female partners. Once breeding season is up, Pedro and Buddy will be able to reunite.

Watch a video about Pedro and Buddy, as well as some other intriguing cases of "gay" animals, below:

Comments

[dontcopyit]

12:38 PM on 11/15/2011

I say keeping it simple let them be or do a an extract and put it on female penguins.

[Charlie Feather]

06:23 AM on 11/14/2011

So, if they mate with females, then they would not actually be gay. Maybe bisexual, but not gay.

[Atwill]

10:20 AM on 11/12/2011

Well let them breed, if they can, they put them together agian. how long does the breeding procss take? ten minutes? hump, bump, plant the seed, good bye. but to seperate them is wrong.

[land2341]

10:25 PM on 11/11/2011

Aren't penguins mates for life? Aren't they one of the few creatures that pair bond monogamously for life? What will happen to them if you separate them to force them to mate with females??

This was bad management. They've already pair bonded, you'll just mess them up more.

[schme909]

12:34 AM on 11/11/2011

Instead of Brokeback mountian, Brokeback Iceberg

[Fudgefase]

06:57 AM on 11/10/2011

Seems a shame to split up any creatures that have bonded.

[Razorback Guy]

05:26 AM on 11/10/2011

I'm for keeping the two male penguins together. I understand the reasoning (maintaining genetic diversity in a decreasing population) but it seems sad to think that these two animals who seem to have bonded are going to be torn apart. I'm glad the story was updated and that they will be reunited once breeding season is over. Good luck Buddy & Pedro!

[Matthew Vella]

03:35 AM on 11/10/2011

Rather silly, it was good to have them together, even just for publicity's sake.

[NeutralLight]

12:39 AM on 11/10/2011

I think they should let them get married. They are already dressed for a fine formal wedding.

[Gavin Bowerman]

05:06 PM on 11/09/2011

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, "Homosexuality is found in over 400 species. Homophobia is found only in one. Which seems unnatural now?"

[NeutralLight]

01:11 AM on 11/10/2011

Couldn't bear to see a big round 0 floating above a sharp quote like that.

[Hope Richardson]

02:59 PM on 11/09/2011

As sad as it is to split them up, it really is for the best (as a species, anyway). However if the males don't take to the females, they should consider letting the two back together.

[Christina-Xena]

02:55 PM on 11/09/2011

The zoo is such an artifical environment....more like like a segergated sex prison. And would absolutely fail any "study standards" as scientific research.

If they were in the wild and in a colony of male and female birds and paired off in same sex partners then that would be a good start and ONE example. But putting these flock/colony animals in a forced prison, divided by sex, then of course some general communal instinct will come out and take on "pairing" preferences when the normal and natural alternatives don't exist. Put them into a colony with females for a few months during mating season and see if they don't pair up with female birds and stay that way.

Similar "make do" behaviors happen in human prisons all the time, and men have sex with other men (and in woman's prisons) when no viable true sex-partner preferences exist (besides the ones that came in gay of course).

So be careful when reading something into animal behavior in a non-study and prison-segergated like environment. And gays need to just accept themselves instead of looking for animals as false mascots for their cause.

And such political crap should NOT affect zoo policy, or wildlife management as well.

[Meagan Cameron]

02:36 PM on 11/09/2011

They do NOT need to be seperated to mate, there are numerous artificial incemination techniques I am sure at least one will work on a penguin! Let them be together let them raise an egg or a chick, i bet they can do it. All that matters is that a baby has a loving home with loving parents the sex or number of parents doesnt matter!!!!

[Hontas Farmer]

05:47 AM on 11/14/2011

You want to be the one to...uh you know with a bird to get the seamen? It's not like with mammals you know.... male and female birds both have these cloaca's...cavities that they press together. They use the same cavity for all three functions. Yeah, all three. Nasty.

[scumof the earth]

01:51 PM on 11/09/2011

so why seperate them,who are they hurting?i dont really know if you can even classify a bird as gay or straight,and who cares anyway?are they happy???seems as if they are.i have 2 big male sulpher crested cockatoos they spend hours grooming each other should i be concerned about their sexual orientation,i think not, they are birds,and what 2 consenting cockatoos do in their own home is no ones business.

[iheartyouh3399]

01:22 PM on 11/09/2011

hahahahaha. this is interesting. gay peguins.