Flutterby™! : A Polar Affair

‘A Polar Affair’ delves into a centurylong cover-up of penguin sex

During his months observing Adélie penguins, which included an entire breeding cycle, Levick witnessed the birds engaging in same-sex mating rituals. He also saw the birds engage in a variety of other sexual behaviors that in humans we might call promiscuity, infidelity, even prostitution. Levick recorded these scandalous details in a second manuscript, “The sexual habits of the Adélie penguin,” in 1915. But the manuscript was stamped “Not for Publication” and remained unpublished for nearly a century.

Looks like the book, A Polar Affair: Antarctica's Forgotten Hero and the Secret Love Lives of Penguins is a delve into the culture around why that manuscript never got published, and how we look at animal behaviors through the lens of current morals.