Toronto Zoo's Same-Sex Penguin Couple to be Split for Breeding

It's like Brokeback Mountain, but with adorable aquatic birds instead of brooding cowboys.

Two male African penguins at the Toronto Zoo who have a "special relationship" will soon be separated so that they can breed with females. Since coming to the Toronto Zoo from Pittsburgh, Buddy and Pedro have spent nearly every night together, defending a shared nest and imitating the signals of a mating couple. Same-sex relationships aren't unheard of among birds, but zookeepers say they will have to put Buddy and Pedro's little bromance to bed for a stretch while they attempt to get the two to help boost the African penguin population. Only 60,000 or so African penguins exist in the wild, down from more than 200,000 a decade ago. To get the population back up, researchers have carefully mapped out the family trees of penguins in captivity to maximize genetic diversity among mates, and now it's Buddy and Pedro's time to fulfill their biological obligations, even if they appear to be much happier living with each other. The zoo swears it's not opposed to the little fellas' relationship, as the institution is just doing its job to make sure the species survives. We know that Leslie Knope wouldn't stand for this.