Sphen and Magic the Gentoo penguins are happy to announce the arrival of a chick that they are taking turns to look after. The same-sex couple are said to be ‘doting’ on their tiny offspring who was born on October 19 weighing just over 3ozs at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. They have called him Sphengic. Sphen and Magic had caught the attention of aquarium workers when they were constantly seen waddling around and going for swims together. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A chick has been hatched after being incubated by a same-sex couple at Sydney’s sea life aquarium (Picture: AFP) The chick is doing well (Picture: Reuters) They then began to build a collective nest of pebbles, prompting the aquarium to provide a dummy egg for them to look after and, when they proved up to the task, a they were given real egg. The pair have bonded, penguin supervisor Tish Hannan said. exclusive Instagrammer accused in £4,000,000 forex 'scam' finally breaks silence ‘They recognise each other’s signature calls and songs,’ she said. ‘Only bonded penguins will be able to successfully find their partner using their calls when they are separated.’ Unlike many mammal species, male and female penguins take on the same parenting roles, and share parental duties 50-50. ‘There is no real difference when it comes to breeding behaviours between males and females,’ Hannan explained. The couple took it in turns to incubate the chick (Picture: AFP) Sphen and Magic had caught the attention of aquarium workers when they were constantly seen waddling around and going for swims together (Picture: AFP) So it ‘is common to have male-male or female-female showing courtship and breeding behaviour.’ Capitol riot probe commission blocked from being created by Republicans In the wild, however, these courtships are unlikely to result in a chick, so they are normally short lived, with the penguins becoming unsatisfied and looking for another partner. ‘Because we have given Sphen and Magic the opportunity to have a potentially successful breeding season, it is very likely that they will return to each other again next year,’ said Hannan. This is not the first time same-sex penguin couples have adopted eggs in captivity, with a handful of zoos worldwide reporting similar cases. They then began to build a collective nest of pebbles, prompting the aquarium to provide a dummy egg for them (Picture: Reuters) In 2009, two male penguins – Z and Vielpunkt – successfully hatched and reared a chick that was rejected by its heterosexual parents at a zoo in Berlin. Before them came Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at a zoo in New York who were spotted frequently trying to mate with each other. After they tried to incubate a rock, zookeepers gave them a foster egg which they successfully hatched. Their foster chick, a female called Tango, eventually paired up with another female. There’s no word yet on whether Leslie Knope will marry the couple.<doc-sep>SAME-SEX couple Sphen and Magic have brought a baby penguin into the world after the two birds fostered a real egg at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. THERE are two proud dads at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium with gay penguin couple Sphen and Magic welcoming a yet to be named baby chick into the world. The couple was introduced to the public earlier this month after becoming inseparable before breeding season, and are constantly seen waddling around and going for swims together at the Aquarium’s Penguin Expedition exhibit. Gentoo parents keep their eggs warm on pebble nesting rings scattered throughout the Macquarie Island inspired exhibit. The loving foster parents are co-parenting exceptionally well to raise their young. Picture: Supplied MORE NEWS: Sydney Zoo opening upsets Taronga over confusion fears Jackie ‘O’ reveals split: ‘It was the right decision’ 14 things not to miss at the Norton St Italian Festa Swapping duties daily, while one of the parents are doing their best to incubate the egg, the other is patrolling the perimeters of the nest, warding off any potential pebble thieves or over-inquisitive neighbours. The baby chick will act as an ambassador for its species’ generation at Sea Life Sydney. Picture: Supplied To ensure the couple was not excluded from the season, Magic and Sphen were given a dummy egg to allow them to practice incubating, and after displaying natural skills and great excitement caring for their egg, the dummy was swapped with a real egg. The unnamed chick hatched on Friday, October 19 at 5:46pm weighing a grand total of 91 grams, but its gender won’t be determined for two months. The chick is seen on the couple’s nest at Sea Life Aquarium. Picture: Supplied Sphen and Magic proved they were capable of caring for a real egg after being given a “dummy egg” by staff. Picture: Supplied It is the first sub-Antarctic penguin chick since the colony was brought into the Darling Harbour aquarium in November 2016. Download The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph app for your smartphone or tablet to get the full story. APPLE: DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR iOS GOOGLE PLAY: DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR ANDROID The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph app for your smartphone and tablet is a crackerjack way to read the stories that matter most to you Get alerts about the latest breaking news on your locked smartphone screen and then tap to go straight to the article WHAT YOU GET WITH OUR APP ► Live and latest news — Get the news as it breaks 24-hours a day, 7 days a week ► My News — Your own personal news feed. Tailor your news to get straight to the topics that matter to you ► Today’s Paper — Read the paper anytime, anywhere with the digital replica of the paper, as its printed ► Notifications — Be the first to know when big stories break with instant news alerts straight to the locked screen on your smartphone and tablet ► Live Sport Scores — Stay on the ball with NRL and AFL live sport scores and expect analysis ► Share — Join the conversation and share your favourite stories via Facebook, Twitter or email ► Daily puzzles — With new crosswords and Sudoku puzzles every day, there’s always something to keep your mind active ► Subscribe — Through the app (via iTunes) to start your 30-day FREE trial; then your subscription will automatically renew to $29.99 per month. FIND OUT MORE HERE ► FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook News // Facebook Sport // Facebook SuperCoach NRL // Facebook Sydney Confidential // Facebook Live Streaming // Twitter News // Twitter Sport // Twitter SuperCoach NRL // Twitter Sydney Confidential // Instagram Daily Telegraph<doc-sep>
The baby penguin (sea life sydney aquarium/facebook) The Gentoo gay penguin couple who adopted an egg has hatched their baby chick, Sea Life Sydney Aquarium announced on Friday (October 26). Sphen and Magic welcomed their baby, who has been temporarily called Sphengic after both of their penguin parents, into the world on October 19. The tiny chick, whose permanent name will be decided after their gender is determined in two months’ time, weighs 91g—which is less than an average apple, or an iPhone. Announcing the news on Facebook, the aquarium wrote that “the proud dads are doing well and are so in love with their precious bub. ❤️ ” Their parents were given the chance to practise parenting with a dummy egg before staff decided they were ready for a real one, calling them “absolute naturals.” The aquarium has now reported that “the loving foster parents are co-parenting exceptionally well to raise their young.” Tish Hannan, the Penguin Department Supervisor at the institution, said in a statement: “Baby Sphengic has already stolen our hearts! “We love watching the proud parents doting and taking turns caring for their baby chick.” The couple’s abilities would be tested over the next few weeks, as they strive to help their as-yet-unnamed chick to survive. “The first 20 days of a penguin chick’s life are the most vulnerable,” Hannan explained, “so it is extra important the chick is very happy, healthy and well fed by his parents. “We can’t wait for the world to fall in love with Baby Sphengic like they did with our amazing same-sex couple, Sphen and Magic!” After those first 20 days, the chick will remain with their dads for another two to three weeks, during which time they will continue to feed them up to 10 times per day. After this period, they will lose their baby fluff, grow adult feathers and start learning to swim. The chick is set for an important role at the aquarium, as it will “act as an ambassador for its generation at Sea Life Sydney, and will help educate the public on the precious species and the plight that they face in the wild.” It was first noticed the penguins had formed a very close bond ahead of breeding season, with Sphen even gifting Magic a special stone which staff explained was “equivalent to proposing in the love language of penguins.” And signs that the pair wanted to start a family became clear during breeding season, when they began hoarding pebbles to build a nest. Same-sex pairings are relatively common in penguins, with many gay penguin couples attracting a human following after their unencumbered relationships attracted attention. In 2012, two gay Gentoo Penguins called Inca and Rayas were given their own egg to rear at Madrid’s Faunia Park after yearning to be parents for six years. And sometimes, if you don’t allow gay penguins to adopt, they take matters into their own flippers. Last month, a couple at Odense Zoo in Denmark kidnapped a baby chick from two straight penguins who they decided were doing a bad job.