Birds of a feather: meet Wendell and Cass, the gay male penguin couple at the New York Aquarium. (Behind the Headlines).

Penguin keeper Stephanie Mitchell had her suspicions all along. While the sex of penguins is difficult to determine, Mitchell had a feeling that two of her favorite penguins at the New York Aquarium on Coney Island, Wendell and Cass, who have been living happily together in a long-term relationship, were both males. When a blood test proved that both of the 14-year-old penguins were indeed male, Mitchell was elated. The Advocate talked to her about her discovery.

When did the birds' homosexuality come to your attention?

I'd always been of the opinion that they were both male, based on their body size and behavior. They are a little big to be females, and their aggressiveness is more representative of males. But it was possible that Wendell was female because he was not as aggressive as Cass. I'd seen them copulating, with Cass on top and Wendell on the bottom. In penguin sex, the female generally lies on her belly, and the male climbs on top. But then Gina Fisher, my keeper counterpart, one day saw Cass on the bottom and Wendell on top. We had them tested, and they both came out male.

So what is the famous couple like?

Wendell is pretty shy, not very forward about eating. He tends to run away from other birds. He's easy to intimidate and freaks out if another bird moves quickly. Cass, on the other hand, is very aggressive. He guards the hutch diligently and is always one of the first to eat. When penguins are in the feed station, they really have no relation to each other. It's every penguin for him or herself. But when Wendell and Cass are in their burrow together, they are very affectionate. They sit close together and cuddle. Penguins do a lot of preening to oil their feathers. Wendell and Cass do something called allopreening, in which they preen the back of each other's necks, which they of course can't reach themselves. This behavior is considered very important for relationships. When one is on the deck and the other is in the water, they talk back and forth.

How do the other birds treat them?

Wendell doesn't stick up for himself very well, so the other birds pick on him--but that has nothing to do with the fact that he's gay, if that term applies at all to penguins. Cass is pretty aggressive, so he's left alone. There is always the danger of anthropomorphizing the birds, but it's possible that Wendell has picked Cass precisely because he's so strong. By nature, the males tend to defend the territory more forcefully. And who knows why Cass has picked Wendell. Maybe he thinks Wendell is a girl, though he does take his turn on the bottom.

What lessons can we take from Wendell and Cass?

We are all animals. Humans are human, but they are also animals. Homosexuality is no more unusual in humans than it is in animals.

I suppose antigay penguin keepers would want to break them up and banish them to reparative therapy.

We would never even think about breaking them up. That would be destructive. There is no reason to do that.

I understand they have the nicest burrow. Do they fit the stereotype of gay men?

Reporters have quoted me as saying they have the neatest burrow and things like that, which is really an extrapolation of my comments. They do have some really good territory, which they are sharing with an [opposite-sex] couple. To them it's a great site, with access both to the water and the feed station. If I were a penguin, that's where I'd like to live.

Are you surprised by all the interest in Wendell and Cass?

We wanted to send out a press release for Valentine's Day; I thought it would be a hoot to throw in the stuff about Wendell and Cass as well. As it turns out, that's what got most of the attention. And so far we haven't gotten any negative backlash at all. It's been a great experience.