This Valentine’s Day season, we’re bringing you tales of romance from all across the animal kingdom! We’re kicking things off with the Gentoo penguin in the hopes that your Valentine’s Day… rocks.
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Episode 1: Gentoo Penguin
Ah, gift-giving. It’s part and parcel to Valentine’s Day. Humans like to show their affection for one another by gifting chocolate, candy hearts, flowers, or if they’re really feeling it, maybe a super-shiny piece of metal or rock. But we are not alone in the animal world when it comes to giving a special something to a special someone. Countless species know that the right gift can be essential for making sparks fly.
Accessed via Wikimedia Commons [Source].
The Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) is one such example. Gentoos are the third-largest known species of penguin and are renowned for their fast swimming speeds in the rocky waters near Antarctica. They use their aquatic agility to catch all kinds of fish and marine invertebrates. During the breeding season, males and females partner up in strictly monogamous pairs and build circular nests out of stones. But female Gentoo penguins can be picky. She won’t just choose anyone as a mate. How to win her over? If you like her, then you’d better put a rock on it.
Male gentoo penguins use a variety of mating displays to woo females, like bowing their heads and vocalizing, but the gift of a rock holds special importance. Good rocks for nesting can be tricky to find. Males present females with the nicest and smoothest rocks they can collect. Not just any common pebble will do. If the female accepts the gift, she’ll use it to build their nest together. So prized are these stones that Gentoo penguins will sometimes even steal the best ones from other nests! Love will make you do wild things.
So this Valentine’s Day, take a clue from the Gentoo. Show that special someone how much you care with something cool and rare. Just, y’know, maybe don’t steal it from the person next door.
Main featured image by W. Bulach [Source].
Written by: Jacob Johnson is a fifth-year animal behavior PhD student at UC Davis studying how animals respond to rapid environmental changes. When he’s not out chasing birds, he enjoys playing jazz saxophone, running board game nights, and writing about nature. His first book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Darwin, is available now on Amazon.
References:
[1] Ancel, A., Beaulieu, M., & Gilbert, C. (2013). The different breeding strategies of penguins: A review. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 336(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2013.02.002
[2] Potter, A. (2025). The gift to win a penguin’s heart | BBC Earth. Retrieved February 12, 2025, from https://www.bbcearth.com/news/the-gift-to-win-a-penguins-heart
[Edited by Jacob Johnson]