I can’t remember which stand-up comic used to say, “Of
course penguins mate for life. It’s not as if they’re ever going to find a better
looking penguin.” A couple of weeks ago we visited the aquarium and were
pleasantly surprised to find it uncrowded. It’s the first time in months we’ve
been able to get a good look at the penguins. (Why does everyone insist on
watching penguins with noses pressed to the glass? If they’d back up a bit, three
times as many of us could enjoy the view.) Along the north wall of the viewing
area are photos of each penguin with their names and parentage. We were
surprised to find two young penguins each had two fathers listed. The aquarium
staff had noticed something odd and asked the UVU biology department to confirm
their suspicions with DNA tests. They discovered penguins aren’t the paragons
of fidelity we’d always assumed. How disappointing.
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