S.F. Zoo's Gay-then-Straight Penguin Sick with Respiratory Infection

It's hard to believe that leaving a famously homosexual partnership for a female wasn't the drama to end all dramas in Harry the penguin's life. Over the weekend, the San Francisco Examiner reported that the San Francisco Zoo's most famous Magellanic penguin had fallen ill with an infection that can be fatal.

A few weeks ago, zookeepers noticed that Harry's appetite had diminished, a big indicator of his physical state. He was also coughing, and was eventually diagnosed with aspergillosis, a respiratory infection caused by ever-present mold spores in the environment.

Harry left the colony on Penguin Island to receive treatment, and in keeping with the zoo's policy of giving penguins in treatment a buddy, was joined by his new partner Linda. The zoo's curator of birds, Harrison Edell, tells PEOPLEPets.com that both birds are very adaptable, and have adjusted well to the change. Linda is "being a penguin," and Harry is improving gradually.

"We don't ever want to say that an animal is totally out of the woods," Edell says. "At the same time, he is improved from last week, and is improved relative to the week before."

Visitors to the zoo, who have always taken an active interest in Harry, Linda, Pepper (Harry's spurned former lover) and Chuck Norris (Harry and Pepper's foster hatchling), are awaiting the sick penguin's healthy return to the colony. But while Harry recuperates, the zoo has another task: Guard the couple's territory! Though the rest of the colony hasn't been fazed by Harry and Linda's absence, other penguins could take over their real estate if the zoo isn't careful.

"As [a] prime nesting spot is vacated and the pair isn't there to defend their burrow, we know that other penguins are going to want that space," Edell says. "They do have a prime spot. They've got a good thing going."

Read about more odd birds on PEOPLEPets.com:
U.K. Turkey Who Loves the Oven Spared from the Dinner Table
Who You Calling Ugly? No, Not Oscar the Cockatoo!

Helin Jung, helin@peoplepets.com