African Penguins celebrate 13 years together at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — In a heartwarming tale of love, two African Penguins at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are celebrating a remarkable milestone–13 years of partnership.
Ichaboe and Spheniscus stand out not just because they are always dressed for success, but also for their remarkable devotion to each other.
“Penguins can have a pair bond with any other penguin, sometimes it’s a penguin of the same sex,” explained Grace Sullivan, Lead Keeper at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. “Sometimes it does take penguins a couple trials of dating around a little bit before they settle down with one particular penguin.”
This love story began over a decade ago. It was love at first sight, or perhaps love at first waddle, as they quickly became inseparable.
“We know that they have been together for at least 13 years of their lives because their son, Gary is 13 years old,” Sullivan said.
Since then, the dynamic duo has been sharing fishy treats, cozying up in their habitat and even synchronizing swimming routines that mesmerize onlookers.
“There are lots of behaviors that we can look for to spot in penguins if we’re seeing sort of a budding romance or penguins who are starting to show interest in each other,” Sullivan said. “One of the first things is that penguins will start preening each other. It’s called preening, but they’re basically using their beak to clean each other’s feathers.”
Another sign of a new relationship is when penguins start nesting together in specific locations. The males will bring nesting materials into the nesting site.
“Things like grass, or really pretty flowers and even interesting pieces of rock,” Sullivan said. “Pinecones are a really big hit. If you can get your girl a pinecone, you’ve done the right thing.”
This Valentine’s Day, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is celebrating its power couple with a romantic fish dinner.
“For penguins, we can feed them usually twice a day,” Sullivan explained. “However, we have a trout program in this pool where penguins could potentially hunt for their own fish. We’ll feed them in the morning and then they can do penguin things for the rest of the day.”
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo said if you want to show them some love this Valentine’s Day, you can vote for them for them as ‘Best Zoo in the U.S.’ in USA TODAY’s Readers’ Choice Awards. The community can vote every day through March 4, click here to submit your vote.
As Ichaboe and Spheniscus waddle hand in hand, or flipper in flipper, into their 14th year together, their story reminds us of the power of love.
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