Meet Elmer and Lima, the same-sex New York penguin couple who hatched their first foster egg together! | The Weather Channel – Articles from The Weather Channel
The first chick raised by same-sex penguin parents at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.
(Rosamond Gifford Zoo)
On New Year’s Day, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in New York saw the birth of a baby Humboldt penguin chick. But what makes this occasion even more special is that the egg was hatched by a pair of same-sex penguins!
Two male Humboldts – Elmer and Lima – became a pair during the 2021 breeding season. And although the young pair had no eggs (obviously), they displayed typical breeding behavior where they built a nest. They even defended their turf, tricking zoo keepers into believing the same-sex couple would do a fantastic job as adoptive parents.
At least two breeding pairs of penguins at the New York Zoo had a history of accidentally breaking their fertilized eggs. Thus, zookeepers often replaced the real egg with a dummy and allowed a more successful pair to incubate the eggs, giving the eggs a better chance of hatching.
However, it would be the first time Rosamond Gifford Zoo keepers have assigned a foster family to a same-sex couple.
When the zoo team discovered a viable embryo in an egg laid by heterosexual couple Poquita and Vente, they transferred it to new daddies, Elmer and Lima.
Zoo director Ted Fox said not all parents are good at hatching eggs, with some breaking the egg, not incubating it properly or arguing over who incubates it at what time. This is how zoo keepers judge who will be good adoptive parents – and Elmer and Lima have proven themselves to be exemplary in all aspects of egg care.
“At our first health check, when the chick was five days old, he weighed 226 grams (8 ounces). He continues to be brooded and cared for by Elmer and Lima, who are doing an excellent job,” Fox said.
The zoo’s press release also mentions several other institutes that have successfully fed eggs to same-sex penguin pairs.
Electra and Viola, a female pair of gentoo penguins at the Oceanogràfic Valencia aquarium in Spain; Skipper and Ping, a male pair of king penguins at Berlin Zoo; and Eduardo and Rio, a male pair of Magellanic penguins at the San Francisco Zoo, are all among those reported in recent years.
Ted goes on to say that same-sex penguin pairs demonstrate that the concept of “family” is not species-specific and that in many cases non-traditional families do a great job of raising children. .
“Elmer and Lima’s success in promotion is one more story our zoo can share to help people of all ages and walks of life relate to animals,” he added.
Currently, the Humboldt are a vulnerable group, with their wild population declining due to habitat loss and climate change. And the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, along with the Species Survival Plan for Humboldt Penguins, has done a great job of increasing the bird population.
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