It is commonly believed every species has a few gays in the mix. Penguins are no exception. A zoo in Germany has now done what South Park failed to do with Mr. Garrison, have two gay penguins hatch an egg, and adopt it as their own chick successfully. "The adult males - Z and Vielpunkt - were given an egg which was rejected by its biological parents." (BBC) This pair of penguins are of the Humboldt breed. This case example could possibly be used as proof that a homosexual couple could raise a child in the same manner a heterosexual couple would - ie. surrogate parents. "Since penguins split parenting work evenly, there are no traditional motherly or fatherly roles." (The Local)
"Homosexual behaviour is well documented in many different animals, but it is not understood in detail." - Professor Stuart West, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford.
The German zoo has six male penguins that have broken into three pairs. Back in 2005 they made headlines when they announced they were going to "'test' the sexual orientation of penguins with homosexual traits." (BBC) The zoo has documented all three pairs attempting to mate with each other and even try to hatch offspring... from stones.
There are other documented cases of gay penguins throughout the world. Wendell and Cass, two penguins in a New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn, have been life partners for over 20 years. Their zoo keeper even claims female penguins won't hit on them, nor will other males. They're just life mates.
A 1999 book, "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity," by biologist Bruce Bagemihl, catalogs the unconventional sexual behaviors like bisexuality and transvestite tendencies of almost 200 different animals. Bagemihl suggests that gay animals are a lot more common than people think.
And here's another gay penguin story:
"Roy and Silo, two chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan, are completely devoted to each other. For nearly six years now, they have been inseparable. They exhibit what in penguin parlance is called "ecstatic behavior": That is, they entwine their necks, they vocalize to each other, they have sex. Silo and Roy are, to anthropomorphize a bit, gay penguins.
When offered female companionship, they have adamantly refused it. And the females aren't interested in them, either.
At one time, the two seemed so desperate to incubate an egg together that they put a rock in their nest and sat on it, keeping it warm in the folds of their abdomens, said their chief keeper, Rob Gramzay. Finally, he gave them a fertile egg that needed care to hatch. Things went perfectly, and a chick, Tango, was born." (SF Gate)
And even another:
"A pair of gay penguins thrown out of their zoo colony for repeatedly stealing eggs have been given some of their own to look after following a protest by animal rights groups.
Last month the birds were segregated after they were caught placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs.
But angry visitors to Polar Land in Harbin, northern China, complained it wasn't fair to stop the couple from becoming surrogate fathers and urged zoo bosses to give them a chance." (Daily Mail)
All these stories depict a gay couple wanting to rear an egg of their own.