The Problem with Donny and Skipper

Melbourne Aquarium's male penguins a little too close for comfort


Terry Brown

January 09, 2009 12:00am

FOR males in a breeding program, Donny and Skipper aren't exactly getting with the program.

The boys like the flashy jewelery and bright clothes of the thousands of visitors who flock to see them.

They are in touch with their feminine side.

That's fine. Their keeper, Sarina Walsh, says all Melbourne Aquarium's king penguins are like that.

But recently the pair have become just a little too close for comfort, at least for the comfort of one young lady with her beak out of joint.

The males haven't quite reached sexual maturity.

Their enclosure isn't Brokeback Icefloe, yet. But their fondness for each other and casual disregard for female company has already raised eyebrows and earned them a slapping.

Billie, a try-hard girl who trails the pair around the ice, is becoming frustrated by the lack of attention.

"She's definitely showing off," Ms Walsh says. "She'll usually start it up by standing up really tall, stretching her neck out as much as she can to look as beautiful as she can."

When charm fails, as it has, Billie takes a more direct approach.

"She gives them a bit of a slap with the wing sometimes, if they are not paying enough attention."

Donny, Skipper, Billie and the other king penguins Terry and Burger have known each other since they were hatched.

In the wild, they would live in the southern Antarctic. Melbourne's five came from an Auckland aquarium where they were bred.

Aged between two and five years old, they are, in penguin terms, teenagers.

Ms Walsh suspects Donny and Skipper might have bonded through moulting at the same time.

"Moulting is not pleasant. They get fat and they get very grumpy. Those two went through moulting together. Maybe it made them have the closeness?

"They follow each other around now, with the female right behind them.

"Billie might give up soon and try with the other male (Burger)."

She is not alone in being confused by the names.

"Often they get male or female names because we don't know what sex they are until they're DNA tested. You can't tell at all by looking."

So, can Donny and Skipper tell the difference?

"I don't know," Ms Walsh says. "They usually figure out who they should be mating with."

Story courtesy of the Herald Sun @

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,27574,24889528-2862,00.html

The penguin breeding program at the Melbourne Aquarium has encountered a problem, with two males in the program spurning the advances of a resident female. See video HERE