Gay penguin couple given egg to incubate at the Sea Life Aquarium in Sydney
Penguins Magic and Sphen started collecting pebbles to build a nest as breeding season approached
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Gay penguin couple at Sydney’s Sea Life Aquarium have been given an egg to incubate.
Magic and Sphen – or better known as Sphenig – had always been more than friends and as breeding season approached, the couple began to collect pebbles to create a nest, which is common among Gentoo penguins.
Sphen also gave his partner a “special stone” which is reportedly the equivalent of a marriage proposal.
After seeing the couple, the aquarium decided to give them a ‘dummy egg’ to see if they would be interested and able to incubate.
Sphenig knew exactly what to do with the fake egg and started to incubate it, according to supervisor Tish Hannan.
Now, the aquarium gave them a real egg and both parents take turns to incubate the egg, which is common among the breed of penguins.
The aquarium reported: “The pair make a great team. And there are often days where the egg cannot be seen (which is really good for penguin breeding).”
Watch Sphen give Magic a ‘special stone’: