Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/same-sex-penguin-couple-has-second-baby/
Sphen and Magic first stepped into the spotlight back in 2018 when the same-sex penguin couple became parents to a fake egg.
The staff at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium first noticed that the two penguins had been showing signs of nesting, as the two of them began to build a nest together during the breeding season. Unfortunately for Sphen and Magic, they were unable to reproduce.
The staff members then gave the pair a dummy egg to care for, curious to see whether or not the two penguin dads had what it took to be parents.
As it turned out, the two male penguins were complete naturals at the whole co-parenting thing. This made the aquarium’s staff feel quite confident that the two would be able to handle a real egg, so they quickly replaced the dummy egg with a real one which had been rejected by its parents.
Sphen and Magic were quite happy to care for the egg until it hatched and produced their little chick named Lara. This was back in 2018, but the little happy family of three has grown by one more.
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Sphen and Magic recently welcomed their second chick following another rejected egg given to them by the staff members to care for. The aquarium explained to the Sydney’s Star Observer, that there are various reasons for penguin parents to reject their eggs. It could be that a pair of penguins simply had too many eggs, or that they’re just not up to the task of properly looking after them. Usually when this happens, the rejected egg will be taken and given to foster parents, like Sphen and Magic.
The zoo added that because the two same-sex penguins did such a wonderful job caring for Lara, they knew that they could handle caring for another rejected egg. Regarding the latest addition, Sea Life Sydney Aquarium’s Penguin Supervisor, Kerrie Dixon, stated, “We are beyond excited to welcome the new penguin chicks to our colony. They are doing really well and gaining weight. They started at around 95 grams, now our oldest is almost 2kg and the youngest is sitting at around 399 grams.”
Penguins are like many other animal species who are known to form same-sex pairings. And Sphen and Magic just happen to be the token same-sex penguin pairing of the aquarium, but as staff are quick to point out, they are wonderful parents to their chicks.
The two penguins have been described as being very caring and attentive parents. Staff said that Sphen and Magic did a wonderful job raising Lara, who has grown up to find a mate of her own. She even tried to hatch an egg of her own this year but wasn’t successful. However, she’ll probably try again next year and hopefully it’ll result in a little grandbaby penguin for Sphen and Magic. In the mean time, they certainly have their hands full with their latest little chick!
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
