Penguins mate for life, the ultimate romantic animals, finding one partner and waddling devotedly beside them forever. It is a wildlife-doco favourite and a wedding-speech staple. One penguin, one love, for keeps.
Most penguins are seasonally monogamous, not lifelong soulmates. They pair up faithfully for a single breeding season, share the brutal work of incubating and feeding a chick, then often part ways and find a new partner the following year. Studies of various species show high 'divorce' rates; in some emperor penguin colonies, the great majority take a different mate the next season, partly because the timing of who returns to the colony when makes reuniting hard. Some species, like certain albatross and a few penguins, do show strong long-term fidelity, so there is a kernel of truth, but the blanket 'penguins mate for life' is wrong for most. They are devoted co-parents for one tough summer, then pragmatic about next year. Less fairy tale, more practical single-parent roster that resets annually.