Love Triangle-And More Gay Penguin s
Updated : Jul 20, 2009
A gay relationship between two male penguins at a zoo has ended after six years - because one dumped the other for a female.
Harry has left Pepper for another "more attractive" bird - a widow called Linda - at San Francisco Zoo, reports Sky News.
The story has been picked up by many of the leading American newspapers including the Los Angeles Times.
Bloggers have been quick to accuse Linda of being a "home wrecker" who "lives for her own happiness, no matter who gets hurt".
The LA Times reported that Harry and Pepper had lived happily side-by-side, protecting eggs abandoned by other penguins, for many years.
But the relationship came to a "shocking end" when Harry moved into a neighboring nest with recently-widowed Linda.
Pepper has been spotted by visitors walking mournfully back and forth around the pen.
Harrison Edell, a curator of birds at the zoo, noted that Linda's recently-deceased partner was a leader of sorts among the small zoo penguin community, commanding not one but two nests.
"For penguins, real estate means a lot," Mr Edell told the LA Times. "So as far as penguins go, she was a pretty attractive prospect."
VeryHappyPig recalls a story earlier this year were a gay penguin couple adopted and were raring a chick!