Love On The Rocks

Pepper, Chaos and Paulie await the arrival of nesting rocks at the Tennessee Aquarium.

Paulie and Chaos, the role model penguin parents who successfully raised Pepper last year, are expected to remain together. They are frequently observed guarding the site where they nested last year. Pepper is often seen standing nearby. In the wild penguins are monogamous for the breeding season, but may pair up with a different mate the following season, said Ms. Graves. Penguins on exhibit frequently remain mates for life. It appears as though Chaos and Paulie have a very strong bond.

Ms. Graves anticipates that most of the gentoos will pair up with the same mates again this season, but there are a few twists to watch. I've seen Blue courting Flower which is a little strange. But when this happens, Nipper will waddle over and interrupt them and chase Blue off, said Ms. Graves.

The macaroni storylines could become as interesting as any reality show on television. You never know about the macaroni pairs until the last minute, said Ms. Graves. The wild card is always Hercules. He's our largest macaroni and all the little females absolutely adore him. In fact, all the macaroni females have been seen standing with him at one time or another. Visitors may want to check the flipper band color chart frequently to see which lady ends up with the dashing Hercules. His favorite, the one he seems to stand most often with, is Shamrock, said Ms. Graves. He was with Sweet Pea last year, but she's been seen a lot with Merlin lately. So who knows?

While the first rocks will be given to the penguins on Thursday, this process will take several weeks according to Dave Collins, the Aquarium's curator of forests. We are going to use nesting platforms this year, said Mr. Collins. This will allow us to keep the exhibit cleaner without disturbing the birds. It will also help keep the nests separated and away from the narrow points of the walkway. Those locations were challenging for keepers to travel last season.

Macaroni penguins don't reach reproductive maturity until they are nearly five years old. So to Pepper, the Aquarium's first penguin chick from last season, the rocks will be new toys. I think she'll enjoy playing around with the rocks. She'll see the other penguins building nests and she'll know she is supposed to be doing something, but she won't quite understand the method behind the madness so to speak, said Ms. Graves.

Visitors can expect to see nest building and courtship activities for about the next six weeks. If the birds are successful, the first eggs may appear at the Tennessee Aquarium around the middle of May.