Gay Penguins Outnumber Straight Ones at Irish Zoo

Operators of the Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium in Kerry, Ireland, recently announced that the majority of penguins they care for are in same-sex relationships.

Eight of the 15 Gentoo penguins are paired with partners of the same sex, reports the Irish Mirror. While gay penguins are not a new phenomenon -- or any animal mating with members of its own sex -- the prevalence of queer couples at the Kerry zoo is rare.

"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," Louise Overy, Oceanworld's animal manager, told the Irish Mirror.

Overy said the lesbian penguins will mate with the males and then raise the chicks with their female partner. She also noted the odd mating rituals of the penguins: "They woo each other with stones which the other partner uses to build a nest. It's far cheaper than diamond rings and flowers."