Seems being gay doesn’t make you a bad parent after all - at least for penguins.
First item in the “Just Plain Weird” file is a story from the UK’s Daily Mail detailing the exploits of two gay penguins from Polar Land in Harbin, China. It seems being a gay penguin couple is considered as evil as being a married gay couple in Australia. I wonder how you determine a gay penguin from a straight penguin?
[Image not archived: Angry penguin doesn]
Angry penguin doesn’t like discrimination. (Source)
It seems the natural urge to be a father was too much for this penguin couple, who were expelled from their colony for stealing other penguin’s eggs.
‘One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs. Despite the fact that they can’t have eggs naturally, it does not take away their biological drive to be a parent,’ said one [wildlife expert].
Zookeepers have hit back at claims of discrimination, saying that the birds were segregated “not because of discrimination, but so as not to disturb the colony during hatching time.” Perhaps gay penguin sex is loud, messy and just too disturbing for other penguins to see.
In response to complaints from visitors to Polar Land, zookeepers have given the couple eggs from a mother who was an inattentive parent. Zookeepers were amazed to find that they were exemplary parents who are “the best parents in the whole zoo”.
Perhaps humans should take note of nature and reconsider their view on gay and lesbian parents. There are plenty of unloved and uncared for children in need of a bit of love. The sexuality of their parents isn’t going to turn them into psychos. Perhaps we should hope that the system will look after them?
Perhaps not.