Zoological Society of LondonIt’s 2019, and finally the rights of gay penguins are being recognised up and down the country as the birds will finally enjoy their very own Pride.
London Zoo is hosting a party for its gay penguins on the very same day as the capital city’s main Pride Parade on the weekend starting July 5.
Zookeepers gave inspiring banners to their gay penguins, which read ‘some penguins are gay, get over it,’ which is of course a gentle nod towards LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall’s Get Over It campaign.
Zoological Society of LondonIn a statement, the zoo said:
Ronnie and Reggie got together in 2014, and famously adopted an egg that was abandoned by another couple a year later.
The pair shared parenting duties of their chick, Kyton, until he fledged the nest. They remain as strong as ever and are often found snuggled up in their nest box together.
The duo share their home with 91 other penguins, including fellow same-sex couples Nadja and Zimmer, and Dev and Martin.
Last month, it was revealed that more than half of the penguins living in an aquarium in Ireland were in same-sex relationships, and same-sex Gentoo penguins had even adopted chicks together.
Zoological Society of LondonDingle Oceanworld Aquarium’s animal manager Louise Overy told the Irish Mirror in May last year:
We have two homosexual pairs and two lesbian ones. You cannot tell a male penguin from a female by their sexual organs so the only way we know is when we see them mating and not producing chicks.
The lesbian ones will take action if they feel broody. They will waddle over to a male to do what needs to be done and rear the chick with their female partner.
They have maternal instincts the same as humans do.
PA ImagesWhile it’s not unusual for penguins to be attracted to those of the same sex, the fact eight of the zoo’s 14 penguins are in same-sex couples is rare.
Louise continued:
In New York City zoo a gay penguin couple reared a chick and that made international headlines because they were seen as the only gay penguin couple in the world – and yet we have four couples here in our place.
They woo each other with stones which the other partner uses to build a nest. It’s far cheaper than diamond rings and flowers.
We have had a gay couple here before. Five years ago Penelope and Misty got plenty of coverage but we never expected it to catch on.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.