Sea Life Sydney Aquarium has given the same-sex Gentoo couple, Sphen and Magic, an egg to nurture together.
- Oct 13, 2018
AceShowbiz - Love knows no boundaries at a Sydney aquarium. Two male penguins, Magic and Sphen, at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium have become a gay couple and are now given a chance to start their own family by raising another couple's chick as foster parents.
According to Oceana, Magic and Sphen developed a strong bond and became inseparable before the breeding season. They "are constantly seen waddling around and going for swims together in the Penguin Expedition."
Noting that gentoo penguins have been known as "one of the more romantic seabirds in the animal kingdom," the non-profit organization that is working toward ocean conservation and advocacy explains their nesting habits. The species constructs nests out of pebbles and "individual pebbles may be shared between potential mates beforehand as a sign that they are interested in becoming a breeding pair."
According to Oceana, the gay penguin collectively known as Sphengic were often seen bowing at each other and Sphen gave Magic a stone, which is equal to proposal, before they started building their nest. They were initially given a "dummy egg to allow them to practice incubating and develop their skills," and the caretakers noticed that they were "absolute naturals."
Magic and Sphen have been given a real egg from another pair of penguins that had two in their nest. "They [Magic and Sphen] immediately knew exactly what it was and started incubating it and we're really, really happy," Tish Hannan, the aquarium's penguin department supervisor, tells ABC News. She says that the real parents "didn't even notice" that an egg was missing and that it's common for gentoo penguins to only be able to successfully raise one egg.
"We're not going to need to step in just because they're males," Hannan adds. "We might step in if it turns out that they're not good parents because of who they are as individuals, but for all the signs we're seeing at the moment they're going to be amazing."
Magic and Sphen are not the first same-sex penguin couple to raise a chick as foster parents. In 1998, two male chinstrap penguins, Silo and Ray, at New York's Central Park Zoo, formed a relationship and raised a chick, but split after one of them took a female partner. A same-sex pair at the Wingham Wildlife Park in Kent also raised a penguin that had been abandoned by its initial parents in 2014.
Not all people, however, are impressed by the story of Magic and Sphen. Some people have called it liberals' ploy to advocate same-sex relationship among humans. "They are each doing the same thing they would do in the wild. Parent penguins who lose a mate have been seen sharing this duty with other penguins, male or female. Not news. They aren't gay," one explains.
Another comments, "There is no such thing as a gay penguin, penguins are highly social animals and regularly match up with same sex for companionship and survival, both male penguins will take up male aspect parenting. Leave it to a sick liberal to equate humanity to penguins."
