Tuesday, April 16, 2002 | 8:31 a.m.
They may appear to be dressed for the Oscars, but their hijinks are more along the lines of an episode of "The Jerry Springer Show."
The tuxedo-clad (or so it seems) penguins at Flamingo Las Vegas' Wildlife Habitat seem cute, cuddly and simple creatures on the exterior.
But beyond their black-masked faces and waddling gait is a complex culture of monogamy, flirtation, skirmishes and thievery.
"It's kind of a soap opera," said Robin Haeffner-Matos, wildlife manager at the hotel. "We have a lot of action here."
The intersecting plot lines, philandering females and redemptive males make for an endless attraction for tourists, and a clear window into the workings of the animal world, she said.
Haeffner-Matos observes and navigates the love affairs and ensuing penguin tensions that occur in the man-made, climate-controlled island of the penguin exhibit, adjacent to the hotel's restaurants.
"They have people-like characteristics," Haeffner-Matos said. "Their affection for each other is obvious. They are territorial about their home like we are, except that they don't like company; and they are stricter with their children once out of the nest they can't come back."
The 12 African penguins weigh about six pounds each and reach 16 inches tall standing on their webbed feet. They are flock-oriented, meaning they enjoy the occasional evening out of their cave socializing or swimming with other birds, as well as a cozy night in the nest with their mates.
Haeffner-Matos often acts as a tour guide into the inner lives of the penguins, as well as a historian.
"We can trace their lineage to the first birds taken to keep the (breed) alive," Haeffner-Matos said.
The habitat, built in 1995, is part of a program sponsored by the Species Survival Program and the American Zoological Parks and Aquariums, to save threatened and endangered animals.
In the 1960s private zoos, which later joined to create the AZA, gathered pairs of penguins to ensure that the species would survive -- at least in captivity.
The lineage is carefully tracked by the SSP and AZA to reduce inbreeding and increase the penguin population.
"We do everything we can to duplicate their (South African) home," Haeffner-Matos said. "Most of these penguins were born in captivity."
The man-made, rocky penguin island is cleaned twice daily and kept between 45 and 85 degrees.
"They can take temperatures from 100 to 32 degrees, but they don't like it," Haeffner-Matos said. "Just like the hotel rooms that the people come and visit, we keep it comfortable for them."
Days of their lives
Of the 12 penguins in the habitat there is one dominant couple, Bert, 13, and Opus, 15, who keep the peace on the island.
The story of Bert and Opus began 10 years ago, when Bert first saw Opus waddle toward him in a Hawaii zoo.
Opus was born with a birth defect that causes her right hip to push out, emphasizing her waddle. She was also predominantly raised by humans, which gave her some issues.
"She thought she was a human," Haeffner-Matos said.
Bert changed that.
"He was just in love with her," Haeffner-Matos said. "He thought she was gorgeous."
Bert set out to win Opus' heart. He gently rubbed his wings along her sides as they stood outside her cave. He brayed soulfully at her, waiting for her to call back. He built giant nests for her to climb into and rest.
For two years Bert chased and cajoled his sweetheart until she finally gave in to his charms in 1994.
They were transferred together to the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat when it opened in 1995.
It hasn't been all fish and fun: The two have weathered Opus' occasional indifference and Bert's silly outbursts.
Bert frequently becomes jealous when Opus flirts with her human handlers.
"It's hard when she (Opus) comes up to you and bows her head to be petted," Haeffner- Matos said. "But we want her to stay a penguin, not pine for people."
Bert prefers Opus to pine for penguins, too -- especially him.
"Sometimes he'll come out of the cave when she's with us and bat her with his wings and then run back (to the cave)," Haeffner-Matos said. "He's a twit. She always forgives him, though."
After 10 years of bliss and many babies, the couple are content in their daily routine of playing, eating and cuddling.
"They are fairly monogamous," Haeffner-Matos said, "except for Olivia."
Oh, what a tangled web penguins weave.
"They do mess around a lot," Haeffner-Matos said.
Olivia is the oldest penguin on the island at 23, which is considered elderly for most penguins. She began to pursue Bert three years ago.
"I think she just flirted her way into his heart," Haeffner-Matos said. "Olivia is really sweet."
She's also Bert's mother-in-law.
"Yeah, he's having an affair with his mother-in-law, but Opus doesn't seem to mind," Haeffner-Matos said.
But why would Olivia chase after her son-in-law when there are single penguins available on the island?
"That's a good question," Haeffner-Matos said. "Who knows why a (woman) likes a certain man who's married?"
Most male penguins have a mistress, Haeffner-Matos said, causing a love triangle, of sorts.
Such is the case with Norton, 8, his longtime mate, Squirt, 15, and Norton's girlfriend, Polly, 15.
Norton was purchased by the hotel in 1997 from the Baltimore Zoo specifically to mate with Squirt.
Squirt and Norton paired off quickly. They made a thick nest of palm fronds together in one of the many caves that dot the island and spent nights cuddling and braying to each other.
They eventually had babies and each took a role in parenting.
On occasion Norton would leave the nest to get some fresh air. His walks usually took him to the cave of his girlfriend, Polly.
"The females don't seem to mind," Haeffner-Matos said. "Squirt knows she's his favorite because when she calls, he always goes. But when Polly calls, he just ignores her."
Home sweet nest
Each month the wildlife staff throws in about 5 pounds of shredded palm fronds from the Flamingo Las Vegas gardens for the penguins to pad their nests.
The males waddle down to the pile of fronds, pick one up in their beak and take it back to the waiting females.
In return, the females push their soft, feathery heads against the male's head and shake vigorously. The males want more of that penguin love, so they return to the frond pile to bring back as many as possible. Tugs-of-war ensue as the frond pile dwindles.
"They will take as much as we put out," Haeffner-Matos said. "They like the attention from the females."
When the frond supply is depleted the penguins settle into their nests to cuddle, leaning against each other.
Eventually one or both will venture out of their cozy abode for a swim or a walk.
"They're pretty active, very curious animals," Haeffner- Matos said.
Roving males in search of prime real estate poke their heads into other caves to check out their neighbors' digs. If they prefer those to their own, they sometimes move in, sans approval.
Finding the new tenants entrenched in their home, the returning couple may give a complaintive honk, but won't cause much of a fuss. Instead they shop for another home that has been temporarily vacated or build a new nest.
There is rarely a serious fight or grudges held between the penguins.
"We have a very quiet collection of penguins," Haeffner- Matos said. "They tend to diffuse a situation among themselves."
If anyone has anger issues, it's the younger generation, Haeffner-Matos said.
The three teenagers -- Klondike, 5, Mango 4, and Tiger, a female, 4 -- are known to try and cause trouble on the peaceful island.
"They're hormonal teen-agers," Haeffner-Matos said. "They walk around together, look into everybody's caves. They are interested in everything."
Especially the opposite sex. Unlike a pair of penguins at the Brooklyn Zoo, all of the Flamingo's penguins are heterosexual, Haeffner-Matos said.
"But we do have a pair of male (Chilean) Flamingos that are a couple," she said.
The male pink flamingos were bought last year to balance the male-to-female ratio in the exhibit. Unfortunately for the three lonely hens, the males preferred each other's company.
"We have three very frustrated hens with no boyfriends," Haeffner-Matos said.
The world inside the glass-walled wildlife habitat can mirror that of the tourists who peer in, Haeffner-Matos said, but not entirely.
"It's interesting to watch, to try and understand them," Haeffner-Matos said. "We can only try."
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