Famed gay penguins trying for their second child
A pair of world-famous gay penguins at the Sydney Aquarium has an announcement: They’re trying for baby #2.
Aussie penguin couple Sphen and Magic garnered international attention for their adoption of a fertilized egg, courtesy of the aquarium staff. Together they hatched Sphengic, so named from the couple’s “Brangelina”-style nickname. Now that Sphengic is a year old, the two want to try for a new baby.
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“They have the neatest and largest nest in the colony and when we noticed that another couple were struggling to incubate two eggs at the same time, we made the decision to foster the second egg to the power couple of the colony,” penguin supervisor of the Sydney Aquarium, Tish Hannan, said in a statement. She adds that Sphengic “had an excellent start to life under their care and while she’s still a bundle of energy and very loud, she’s matured nicely but still quite unsure as to what all the adults are doing this breeding season.”
Aquarium employees have already given Sphen & Magic a second egg, though it’s unclear at this point if it is fertilized. The couple has hopes, however, and have begun sharing the rotation of keeping the egg warm. Penguins are one of the most prominent examples of homosexuality found in the animal kingdom, with scores of same-sex couples found all over the world. The couples appear to spontaneously mate, bond, and when in possession of a fertilized egg, rear a chick together.
And people say it’s unnatural!
