Study to find if zoo's birds faithful or out to pick up a penguin

They had been considered the most solid of partnerships, loyally keeping the same mate for life.

But now it seems even penguins may have wandering eyes.

A study is being carried out at Edinburgh Zoo in a bid to discover if the birds are prone to sleeping around.

It comes after keepers at the zoo spotted male penguins moving between partners, and began to wonder if the birds were more likely to stray from the nest than previously thought.

The research is being carried out to ascertain just how many partners the amorous animals are prepared to take on.

There are already reports that one of the city's male penguins has become involved in a menage-a-trois, looking after two females in the same nest.

The study has been made possible thanks to a new viewing enclosure which is letting researchers, and members of the public, get closer to the penguins than ever before.

Modelled on a research station in the Falkland Islands where staff from the zoo have been working to study and help with conservation of the native rockhopper and gentoo penguins in the wild, the Penguin Field Station gives visitors an exclusive sheltered view of the animals in their enclosure.

Opened at the start of mating season a few weeks ago, it has given hundreds of people a chance to get an intimate look at the private lives of penguins, with the animals completely unaware they are being watched.

Anyone looking to carry out research at the zoo is presented with a list of topics the keepers are interested in, and the cheating habits of the penguins soon found its way on to the list.

The study is the first of many that zoo bosses plan to carry out on its penguin population, one of its most popular attractions.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Zoo said: "Our new Penguin Field Station has become popular quickly, as people are fascinated by these unique birds and their amusing characteristics.

"With the field station opening just at the start of the breeding season, visitors have been treated to the interesting and somewhat comedic behaviour of our gentoo penguins courting, mating and nesting, oblivious to their hundreds of new observers.

"As well as making the visitors smile, we hope the area will improve serious interest in the species and awareness of our work with the penguin colonies in the Falklands."

The zoo is famous worldwide for its penguins, and has around 150 gentoos, king penguins and rockhoppers. It was the first zoo to exhibit and breed the animals.

The new station was converted from a study area used by schools, and has had new windows fitted, which let visitors observe the penguins up close.

The covered area, which features an environmentally-friendly grass-covered roof, is filled with models of a gentoo penguin's beak, feet and an egg, so that people can understand how the birds are adapted to survival.

The centrepiece of the new area is a wooden sculpture of a gentoo penguin with two chicks carved from a piece of elm by chainsaw sculptor Robin Wood.