Melbourne’s Gay Swans, Billy And Elliot, Take On Fatherhood Together
Melbourne Zoo black swans Billy and Elliot are taking the next step in their relationship after zookeepers 3D printed eggs for the couple. The pair were rescued years ago after being attacked by dogs, and they now reside on the billabong at the zoo’s Australian Bush habitat.
Nature is healing
Zookeepers noticed that the swans were using mating calls to communicate with each other and they began building a nest. Their natural instinct to mate resulted in their pairing over the spring season and, to aide in mimicking a natural habitat, Melbourne Zoo decided to have eggs printed for the couple.
Swans often mate for life. The eventuation of one swan dying can be a cause of “divorce”, but another common one is a nesting failure. The Melbourne bird keepers understand how important it is to provide Billy and Elliot the means to support their nesting.
“This is something you do see in wild swans, two boys can pair up,” says Bird Keeper Ben on the Melbourne Zoo Facebook page. “This got the bird team thinking about ways that we could provide an opportunity to have reproductive behaviour as part of their behavioural repertoire.”
The two swans have begun exhibiting behaviours common in nesting such as tending to the eggs throughout the day and becoming protective over them. Zookeepers say it’s not entirely about having babies, rather about supporting the natural instincts and important behavioural instincts of the couple.
Homosexual pairings are not uncommon in nature. They aren’t uncommon in man-made habitats either. The Sea Life Sydney Aquarium hosts another gay bird power couple named Sphen and Magic. These two penguins have been a devoted couple for five years and have successfully hatched two babies together.
Although Billy and Elliot have shown serious interest in their faux eggs, they haven’t sat upon them to incubate. The interest they both show is promising though, and zookeepers will be offering the couple their eggs again next nesting season.
