Buddy and Pedro, two male endangered African penguins who were forced apart by Toronto zookeepers for breeding reasons, have both found a female partner, the Toronto Zoo said Monday.

Last month, the penguin pair was seen swimming together and sharing a nest, refusing to leave each other to breed with female penguins at the zoo.

However after the separation Buddy successfully paired with female Farai in less than 72 hours, said Tom Mason, curator of birds and invertebrates at the Toronto Zoo, in a press conference.

It wasn’t as easy for Pedro who courted a female Thandiwey for several weeks, but has not made any permanent moves.

"Pedro is very ready to go per se, but his prospective mate, Thandiwey, is very shy, and we’ve always known she’s been very shy, even in the groups," said Mason "She’s the one who’s always been standoffish. She’s not quite ready to go. But they’re beginners just starting life as a pair."

Three penguin pairs are in the breeding program and have been placed in the zoo’s penguin house, and each couple has a particular nest spot.

Furthermore, Buddy and Pedro recently got into a fight over territory that could have resulted in serious injuries if not for the mesh border between the nest, Mason told reporters. He added that it is a common male trait to set territory around a nest.

Mason said that the same sex “social bond” is not uncommon among penguins, especially in the absence of females, he told the The Canadian Press.

"They have one another's backs," he said.

"When the opposite pairs do show up, the same sex bond tends to break down,” added Mason.

Buddy, who is 21, had previously been with female partner for a decade and produced offspring. However she later died. Pedro, 10, has yet to produce any chicks.