The Albatross With Two Mommies
Poet Charles Baudelaire called the albatross “one of those big birds / which nonchalantly chaperone a ship / across the bitter fathoms of the sea,” and Samuel Coleridge deemed the animal “a bird of good omen.” (OK, no more 19th-century poetry references—I promise!) I wonder if those guys would be impressed to know that two female royal albatrosses in New Zealand have bonded as a mating pair and are caring for a chick together after the father disappeared.
Wildlife experts are definitely intrigued. Though lesbian albatrosses have also appeared in Hawaii, no one has ever seen a pair who successfully raised a baby together. We’re loving this same-sex pair, and Tourism Dunedin is brainstorming a name for the chick with two mommies. I’m thinking Ellen or Portia. Do you have any suggestions?
Written by Logan Scherer
