SF Zoo's male penguin pair returns

Harry and Pepper, the San Francisco Zoo's male penguin pair, are once again canoodling at home after a nine-month star turn at the Sacramento Zoo. Their foray up north did little to break their now three-year-long bond.

Upon their return in January, "they were attached, just like the old times," said Quinn Brown, their keeper in San Francisco.

The lovebirds departed shortly after Valentine's Day last year to help christen a new temporary penguin exhibit at the zoo in the state capital. Along with two other Magellanic penguin pairs from the SF Zoo's Penguin Island exhibit, Harry and Pepper made quite a splash as the Sacramento Zoo celebrated its 80th year.

The zoo built the penguin exhibit specifically for its anniversary - it hadn't displayed penguins since the 1960s. The Bay Area birds proved to be so popular with visitors they had their stay extended through the Christmas holiday.

"The penguins were a huge success at the Sacramento Zoo," said spokeswoman Lauren Kraft. "We had a record number of visitors over the course of the year."

In fact, more than 500,000 people flocked to the zoo in 2007, the highest visitor total in 17 years. And Kraft said the zoo owes it all to its San Francisco guests.

"We attribute the record number to the penguins. People were coming out time and time again to visit them. The kids love the penguins," said Kraft.

SF Zoo staff visited the penguins four times to check in on them during their stay. Unlike one opposite-sex penguin pair - Howard and Algae - who became homesick and returned early to San Francisco, Harry and Pepper seemed to enjoy their road trip, as did the third couple, Putty and Patsy, said Brown.

"It was kind of a rough transition for them," Brown said of Howard and Algae. "We brought the two back because they didn't get used to it as we had hoped. But Harry and Pepper did fine."

Seven-year-old Harry and 6-year-old Pepper did lose some weight while away, due to the setup of their vacation home. Unlike the swimming pool in San Francisco, the water feature of the Sacramento exhibit was aboveground, allowing the penguins eye-level views of their human visitors.

"Because of the glass, they did a lot more swimming," said Brown. "They kept thinking they could get through it and made constant attempts to swim right through the glass."

As for having a same-sex penguin pair take up residence in the more conservative Sacramento region, Kraft said hardly anyone noticed.

"No one batted an eye," she said. "That wasn't picked up on the same way as it was in San Francisco. We did emphasize male pairing in the bird world is very common, as well as female pairs. It is pretty common in penguins."

Since their departure, Kraft said several of their Sacramento admirers have inquired as to the penguin couples' whereabouts.
"They are happy to know they traveled just over to San Francisco so they are close enough to visit," she said.

The two couples' homecoming and reintroduction to the penguin colony in San Francisco earlier this year went without incident, said Brown.

"Everybody was on the beach. They came and vocalized; everybody was braying," recalled Brown. "We expected some fights but there was no fighting at all."

SF zookeepers had placed a rock in front of Harry and Pepper's burrow to ensure it would be free upon their return. After a day of swimming in their old pool, the two waddled right back into their nesting spot on the north side of Penguin Island. The couple was snuggled up in their burrow - the last one on the right side of the row of five burrows - the day a reporter and photographer visited them.

Mating season on the island began last month, and the penguins spend a good portion of their day prepping their nests to care for their eggs, which usually are laid around Mother's Day.

"Everybody is starting to spend more time at home," said Brown. "We are starting to see copulation, including with Harry and Pepper. Harry is definitely the top. Pepper spends the majority of time at home and calling for Harry, which is typical of a female penguin."

The male penguin pair will be given an infertile egg to care for, as has been done in the past, to prevent them from stealing an egg from another couple. With the island at capacity with 53 birds, only two couples will be allowed to care for fertile eggs this year.

Quinn, who is an out gay man, said he would like to place a rainbow flag on the island during June to celebrate Pride month at the zoo and its resident same-sex couple.

"This is San Francisco, we should represent our gay penguins," said Quinn, who has worked at the zoo five years, the last two as a bird keeper. "Come back during Pride month; we are going to do it big."

Just prior to the start of Pride month, on May 31, the SF zoo is holding its first March For The Penguins! - a one-mile fundraising walk-a-thon around the zoo grounds. The money raised will help support the zoo's animal care, conservation efforts, and education programs.

Pre-registration fees are $30 per adult and $20 per child. Registration and a breakfast will be held from 7 to 8 a.m. that Saturday, with the walk kicking off at 9 a.m.

To sign up, e-mail mailto:[email protected] or call (415) 753-7145.