The relationship between Harry and Pepper, a pair of male penguins at the San Francisco Zoo, is two years and going strong according to zookeepers:
“They are a strongly bonded pair of birds. They are monogamous. There hasn't been any exploring,” according to zookeeper Anthony Brown.
Since co-habitating, the gay penguins have increased the value of real estate in the penguin tank:
“The pair did move into the row of five burrows on the north side of the Penguin Island exhibit. The row had been fully owned by Fig, the alpha male of the group – Brown said the females consider him “a stud muffin” due to his ivory-yellow colored beak – but he relented the last one on the right side to the male pair.
In late January the two had already begun to build a nest in expectation of the breeding season that starts next week. Brown, while pointing out their burrow, rated it “very high” quality compared to Fig's female partner, who had pulled in plastic to her burrow.”
With the gentrification, soon burrows will be unaffordable.
Harry and Pepper are the only same-sex couple among 53 birds at the zoo.
Love blossoms for zoo male penguin pair [bay area reporter]
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