Gender of penguin raised by gay parents revealed in Sydney
- 5 years ago
SYDNEY — Looks like our favorite same-sex penguin couple in Sydney's Sea Life Aquarium are father and father to a female penguin, according to CNN.
Sphen and Magic brought the baby chick into the world in October as eyeballs around the world watched with melting hearts.
The two pals are male gentoo penguins who became joined at the hip last year, right before breeding season.
Since the two were always hanging out, waddling around and going for dips together, the aquarium thought they would make good prospective parents.
After another couple laid two eggs, Sphen and Magic were given the chance to hatch the "backup" egg.
According to CNN, it's typical for gentoo penguins to lay two eggs each breeding season, but the crazy cold Antarctic temperatures usually means only one egg can be successfully incubated and raised, so the "backup" may not make it.
The best buds hatched a super-cute 91-gram penguin chick on October 19, 2018.
Because both sexes look similar, it takes experts a few months and a blood test to figure out the gender of a penguin.
In this case, it was a girl, who for the moment is going by the name Baby Sphengic. Don't worry, a real name is coming soon.
In the meantime, Baby Sphengic has been learning to dive as well as having quite the appetite.
Sphen and Magic brought the baby chick into the world in October as eyeballs around the world watched with melting hearts.
The two pals are male gentoo penguins who became joined at the hip last year, right before breeding season.
Since the two were always hanging out, waddling around and going for dips together, the aquarium thought they would make good prospective parents.
After another couple laid two eggs, Sphen and Magic were given the chance to hatch the "backup" egg.
According to CNN, it's typical for gentoo penguins to lay two eggs each breeding season, but the crazy cold Antarctic temperatures usually means only one egg can be successfully incubated and raised, so the "backup" may not make it.
The best buds hatched a super-cute 91-gram penguin chick on October 19, 2018.
Because both sexes look similar, it takes experts a few months and a blood test to figure out the gender of a penguin.
In this case, it was a girl, who for the moment is going by the name Baby Sphengic. Don't worry, a real name is coming soon.
In the meantime, Baby Sphengic has been learning to dive as well as having quite the appetite.