Aquarium Discovers Two 'Gay' Penguins

[drlloyd11]

Aquarium Discovers Two 'Gay' Penguins
PlanetOut
02.23.02

By Beth Shapiro

Wendell and Cass would be more comfortable in a Greenwich Village one bedroom apartment than their current home at the New York Aquarium.

The male penguins, each about 14 years old, can't get enough of each other. The couple has been together for the past eight years, and the two have sex with each other whenever they can, which is often.

Presumably penguins can tell the guys from the gals, but aquarium officials apparently can't. For years they thought the pair was one of each. The truth didn't come out until aquarium staff carried out a blood test.

Angie Pelekedis, a spokeswoman for the aquarium on Coney Island, said: "They're one of the most dedicated couples in the penguin enclosure."

Penguin keeper Stephanie Mitchell added: "I was only seeing one mate with the other, but then one of the other keepers saw it happen the other way round so we did a blood test that proved they were both male.

"Cass tends to be a rather aggressive bird. Wendell is very nervous; always has been. He's on edge all the time. They're currently in a dispute with another couple over their nest. It seems to be one of the most desirable places in the penguin enclosure."

[Under Her Spell]

Aren't there tribes of chimps which are at least kinda gay?

[Hemiola]

I believe that bonobos are constantly having sexual relations with each other, irregardless of gender. For them, it is simply a form of "socializing".

Apparently, they truly believe in the philosophy of "make love, not war" .

[KathleenWolf]

I want a pair of gay penguins too!!!

so darn cute sounding...

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"Are all you witches gay?" Buffy - Walking In Circles

[Popje]

Yes, those monkeys are mighty horny. And there have been quite a few reports of gay dolphins. Ah, nature au naturelle.

[Dazey]

quote:

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Originally posted by drlloyd11:
They're currently in a dispute with another couple over their nest. It seems to be one of the most desirable places in the penguin enclosure.

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Figures. Gay boys always get the best places.

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"We are in the love. We are...the in love ones. Lesbian, in love with merry-type."quote:

[invisigoth]

quote:

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Originally posted by drlloyd11:
They're currently in a dispute with another couple over their nest. It seems to be one of the most desirable places in the penguin enclosure."

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It's a good thing they don't live in Alabama.

quote:

[wiltar]

quote:

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Originally posted by KathleenWolf:
I want a pair of gay penguins too!!!

so darn cute sounding...

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I couldn't have said it better myself!
It just sounds adorable

Patricia

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"What are they looking at?"
"The hotness of you, doofus!"quote:

[tommo]

Oh Dazey...never a truer word was spoken.

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Sweetie...I'm a fag.

[AutumnT]

I always love these stories since so many homophobes like to pretend that this sort of thing doesn't happen in nature. LOL.

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Autumn

I have the sudden urge to dedicate my productive cooperation.

[Under Her Spell]

Makes me wonder if nature isn't a lot gayer than people think. With many animals gender is hard to determine, so naturalists just assume that if they're mating then they're male and female.

[BabyWillowsGoddess]

Well well well... what do you know everyone is going gay now even pretty lil penguins Okay i guess not everyone.. But isn't it cool that they are acknowledging there commitment to one another? Damn i bet they are pretty happy with one another Gotta love to hear about happiness with gay type lovers

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DannieMoon

Omg... Float? What?

[Dr.G]

quote:

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Originally posted by drlloyd11:

The couple has been together for the past eight years, and the two have sex with each other whenever they can, which is often.

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Okay, so now I am jealous of penguins. quote:

[GridMonkey]

My parent's dog is gay. One of their friends wanted him to be a stud, but he wasn't interested in the girl dog. They had two gay dogs, but Barney got old and had to be put to sleep because he couldn't move anymore. They were a cute couple when Barney wasn't peeing in the house.

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Ms. Calendar: The part that gets me, though, is where Buffy is the Vampire Slayer. She's so little.

[mollyig]

CNN have a vid article of this story. Here's the URL.
http://www.cnn.com/video/us/2002/02/19/ ... y.med.html

I have a "slight" obsession with penguins. I believe their society is an example we should follow. A theory I put forth whenever I've had waaaay too much to drink!

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"It took a long time to become the thing i am to you,
and you won't tear it apart without a fight, without a heart"
Become You - Indigo Girls

[WiccanBex]

gay penguins? hmm... i never thought about penguins being gay before...

actually... i never thought of penguin sex of any kind before right now, so...

thanks. lol

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"if you throw a stone, something's gonna shatter somewhere. We're all so fragile, we're all so scared."
Convention review site

[mollyig]

quote:

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Originally posted by WiccanBex:
gay penguins? hmm... i never thought about penguins being gay before...

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I remember reading an article about homosexuality in the animal king(or queen) dom, and was talking to my mother about it who quipped "is that why penguins waddle then?"

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"It took a long time to become the thing i am to you,
and you won't tear it apart without a fight, without a heart"
Become You - Indigo Girlsquote:

[the literary exterminator]

quote:

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Originally posted by WiccanBex:
actually... i never thought of penguin sex of any kind before right now, so...

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Really? Then you must not be shopping for the right kind of mugs.quote:

[Scout]

I originally posted this in the Alabama court thread, but it's worth repeating. In the book, "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" the researcher documented homosexual behavior in over 190 species in the animal kingdom.

And that's just the ones they've observed. When you consider how many species have never even been discovered (for example, in the Amazon rainforest), you realize the actual number could be a lot higher.

[This message has been edited by Scout (edited February 26, 2002).]

[jitterbug]

I always knew i liked penguins for some reason.

Bonobo monkeys have a society in which any dispute is settled by having sex (no matter the genders) rather than by fighting. I think we could all learn something from them.

Can't remember where i read it,but i'm positive i heard about a gay pair of elephants at a zoo somewhere...ah well.

And i'm convinced my friend's dogs are lesbians. She just rolls her eyes...maybe i'll tell her about the penguins and then see what she says.

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"Isn't it funny how slaying always makes you hungry and horny?"

[tommo]

quote:

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Originally posted by jitterbug:
Bonobo monkeys have a society in which any dispute is settled by having sex (no matter the genders) rather than by fighting. I think we could all learn something from them.

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Oh god, this strikes a note of fear into my heart when I think about how many disputes I have with people. I mean, if I had to shag them all instead of argue with them...*shudder*... Not a pretty thought. Urgh.

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Sweetie...I'm a fag.quote:

[Epicurus]

Since the topic has to do with animals I'd just like to share that... my dog is gay. He's gotta a crush on my sister's dog. I have a female dog also, but he will have nothing to do with her. He completely looses all common sense (incessant barking, running around, kocking things over) when the other dog comes over for a visit. He's tried to mount him a few times but he is always unsuccesful. It's funny too cause my dog will get really jealous if he doesn't get enough attention from him when walks in the door.
It's cute but I do feel bad for him, he's tring to so hard but it doesn't look like the other dog is interested in him. So much for puppy love.

[BabyWillow81]

Gay Penguins thats gotta be so adorable!!!!! I must go see them somtime.

I retract my house statment, If I had infinite money id buy the gay penguins!!

I actually had a gay male kitty once. I was in like seventh grade then. Harold used to chase my other male cat orangie around the house, and try to..errrr...um mount him so to speak.

The odd thing is my other male cat would let him, (not that the mounting part is odd) the part that makes it a lil' questionable is he aslo (orangie) impregnated my female cat. My mum blamed it on the fact that my male kitty ,harold had been nutered. But contrary to my moms belief, he would still have been a male attracted to males, getting him nuetered wouldnt have changed that. It could have however, changed the fact that orangie couldnt smell the male pheromones on him so he let harold do his thing But still..ya'know.

Well anyway,does this mean I possibly had a BI-sexual cat? Hmmm who knows?

But gay penguins, thats awsome!! Especially since this has been made public knowledge. Now maybe peole will begin to understand, that it is a gentecis thing and not a personal choice.

I know, somtimes i dream the dream of dreamers

[starbuck]

The scientific community has seen homosexual relationships within animal species for years now. The Penguin Pair will undoubtably receive alot of press and may even garner the distinction of becoming official gay mascots....
Everyone will want to adopt them.

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"Vita Brevis ~ Ars Longa!"

[Blixxt]

You know, for the longest time I thought two of my tortoises were gay, as I was told they were male and they truly enjoyed the tortoise-love. But then one of them laid eggs, so it's apparently not the case. Norman is now Norma, and is just as big a Willow/Tara fan as the rest of us! Well, she would because if she could communicate, as she's the 'smart one' of the group (i.e. she's learned to stop banging into a wall after the fourth or fifth time.) The other tortoises have not yet mastered this.

Back on topic. Gay penguins. I want one.

[This message has been edited by Blixxt (edited February 27, 2002).]

[Caity]

Well, doesn't that just make your day!! It did for me! Thanks for the link mollyig!!

I notice that they mention Giraffes...

[Twisted Rabbit]

How could we forget the giraffes?

[drlloyd11]

http://salon.com/mwt/feature/2002/03/08 ... index.html

some more info
hey, penguins are cute alright!