As it is every spring, love is in the air. You can see it in the eyes of the people in the park, the ones now stripped down to barely anything in preparation for the summer, you can see it in the walk of those on the prowl, but where you can’t see it is on the faces of the penguins at The New England Aquarium in Boston. While it may be lovebird season for everyone else, the endangered African penguins who currently call Boston home have been tucked away so they can make the magic happen. Yes, kids, those penguins have been set up in “honeymoon suites,” so they can make the sweet, passionate love.
Although Bostonians aren’t exactly known to be a romantic folk (and I base this on my heritage and not assumptions), it seems that the biologists at the aquarium have made an exception for their eight pair of African penguins. Their hope, aside from getting to cuddle baby penguins which is everyone’s dream-come-true scenario, is that the couples will procreate and ideally keep the species from extinction at least a little bit longer. Right now, the African penguin will be extinct in the wild by 2025.
The honeymoon suites where the romance is set to happen are igloo-style plastic cozy nooks in and around the main exhibit, so the couples can get away to get it on whenever the mood strikes. What I take this to mean is that we won’t a have a repeat of a viral video of any of these penguins having sex, as was the case last week when Lu Lu and Zhen Zhen were breaking panda sex records left and right.
The New England Aquarium has been successful in the past when its come to breeding the birds, and have even sent 28 of them to seven different zoos in the last 15 years. Basically, these little darlings are in good hands between their honeymoon suites and the aquarium’s track record. With World Penguin Day on the 25th, it’s definitely an appropriate time for the birds to make it happen. Here’s hoping these feathered darlings can lie down by the fire and give the world some babies. We’re rooting for you, Boston penguins!
Images: Giphy(1)
