In the wild, animals can walk miles to find "the one." In a zoo, they are set up on blind dates. Curators use "personality tests" (yes, really) to see if a timid penguin should be paired with a boisterous one, or if a dominant gorilla needs a submissive mate to avoid bloodshed. In the wild, animals can walk miles to find "the one
At a zoo in the Netherlands, a couple of Humboldt penguins made global headlines for what keepers called the "Messy Separation of 2020." After raising three chicks together for six years, the female penguin, "Juna," caught the eye of a younger, more aggressive male. She left her longtime partner "Kees" for the newcomer. But it didn't end there. Kees became depressed, refusing to eat, until keepers introduced a recently widowed female. The subsequent "jealousy" displays—Kees stealing pebbles from Juna’s new nest—were documented as the first confirmed case of in captive penguins.
Perhaps the most profound are revealed in death. Animals grieve. She left her longtime partner "Kees" for the newcomer
Furthermore, AI is now being used to analyze facial recognition and body language. An algorithm at the London Zoo can detect a "happy" otter chirp versus a "rejected" screech. This data is used to break up bad couples before they fight, and to reunite old lovers separated by previous breeding loans.