Where’s Leslie Knope when you need her? A pair of (possibly) gay penguins, Buddy and Pedro, at a Toronto zoo will soon be separated so that they can find proper mates.

Zookeepers say that Buddy and Pedro, two male African penguins, are inseparable. The two gay penguins are also starting to display signs of mating rituals. But according to the Star, the two love birds will soon be separated because Buddy and Pedro have “top notch genes” and will soon be partnered with females for breeding.

Joe Torzsok, chair of the Toronto zoo board, said:

“It’s a complicated issue, but they seem to be in a loving relationship of some sort.”

According to the Daily Mail, African penguins are endangered so the Toronto Zoo has to follow through with its species survival plan.

Here’s a video about Buddy and Pedro.

Buddy, 20, and Pedro, 10, are part of the popular African penguin exhibit which opened in May. They were both bred in captivity in Ohio. Zookeepers refer to their unique relationship as “pair bonding.”

A study conducted by the University of Berkeley found that birds can form long lasting gay relationships. According to the study, penguins in an all-male group will typically find a partner. If females are later introduced, five out of eight pairs will ignore the female and stick with their male partner.  

Lead author Dr Julie Elie said:

“Relationships in animals can be more complicated than just a male and a female who meet and reproduce. My observations led me to this surprising result: same-sex individuals would also interact like male-female pairs.”

Do you think Buddy and Pedro are gay? Do you think the penguins will mate when they are partnered with female penguins?

Gay Penguins to be Separated by Zoo is a post from: The Inquisitr

Internet memes are one thing. They are pretty much a dime a dozen and the supposed secret recipe for success on the web.

However you want to talk about what a real successful meme is then you have to look for the ones that cross over from the Internet into our real world. Those are fewer and far between so when the newest one about penguins started spreading it fascinating to see how it all got started.

The current favorite I am talking about is the “No kicking penguins” meme that was started by Colby Chipman.

On the surface it might seems a little hard to believe that those simple three words has sparked a worldwide meme

“Who would’ve known that this guy’s drawing could end up in Antarctica?” his mother Michelle asks, as she smiles and shrugs.

In October, she was walking down the hall when she kicked an inflatable penguin — which had been won at the Regatta — out of her way.

Seven-year-old Colby, who’s in Grade 2 at Paradise Elementary, promptly advised her that kicking penguins was prohibited.

He left the room for a minute, returned requesting Scotch Tape and then posted a hand-drawn sign — a woman kicking a penguin, in a circle with a diagonal line through it (as in a No Smoking sign).

Written around the image was the decree Colby had issued earlier — “No kicking penguins.”

Michelle was thrilled with his cleverness, and with the deeper message about being kind to birds and animals.

Source: Telegraph Online

What is incredible about this is that Colby is only seven years old and autistic.

What is also incredible about this is that this sign is now posted at the Antarctica and has become the official policy just a single day after Colby’s uncle posted it to social media site reddit.com.

It has progressed even beyond that with a store of its own where all the profits will go to autisms societies in the US and Canada.

He might be autistic but he sure can start a fantastic meme is a post from: The Inquisitr

A gay penguin couple in a German zoo have hatched a chick and are now raising it as their own.

The male penguins, named Z and Vielpunkt, were given an egg that was rejected by its biological parents, and took to the parenting task with vigor. The yet unnamed chick is now a healthy four months old.

The zoo, in Bremerhaven, northern Germany previously made headlines in 2006 when it imported four Swedish penguins to seduce three other gay penguin couples in order to test their sexuality, according to Pink News. The exercise drew outrage, with gay rights activists calling on the penguins to be left alone. The penguins didn’t like it either, with the male penguins pinning for their male partners until they were eventually reunited.

Gay parenting embraced by German Penguin enclosure is a post from: The Inquisitr

One wouldn’t think that in the Antarctica it would be too hard to find emperor penguins given that is their home turf and really how the hell to hide is all the great white expanse?

Well apparently it is harder than you think since Antarctica is about 1.5 times larger that the United States there is actually lots of places to hide. This has made it harder for scientists trying to locate all the penguin colonies on the continent.

Then totally by accident the scientists at the British Antarctic Survey were looking over satellite images of their bases discovered how to find them. Look for the penguin shit. Seriously, I’m not kidding. It seems that because the penguins stay on the same ice for months their excrement leaves a large reddish-brown stain on the ice.

Look for the stain – find the penguins.

Just something for you to file away for that trip you might take to the Antarctica.

picture via DiscoveryNews

How to find penguins – look for the brown stain is a post from: The Inquisitr