Gay penguins adopt an egg after months of trying to hatch rocks
A gay penguin couple are trying to hatch an egg together.
Skipper and Ping, two male king penguins residing at Zoo Berlin in Germany, arrived as a pair from another zoo in Hamburg in April. Zookeepers were able to tell the couple wanted to start a family soon after their arrival, since Skipper and Ping would take turns trying to incubate rocks and pieces of fish between their legs.
"It is very common that two penguins of the same sex come together," Zoo Berlin spokesperson Maximilian Jäger said. "I don't think it is the majority of penguins, but it is not rare either. We are sure they would be good parents because they were so nice to their stone."
Orange, a 22-year-old female named after her bright orange wings, laid an egg in July. Since she never hatched her own chick, zookeepers donated the egg to Skipper and Ping.
"We just had to put the egg in front of one of them, and he knew just what to do," Jäger said, according to the New York Times. "He took his beak and put the egg on his feet and then put his stomach over it, which is the normal thing penguins do."
Zoo officials aren't sure if the egg is even fertilized — CNN notes that incubation usually lasts 55 days, and the only way to tell is if the egg hatches in early September. Penguin keeper Anja Seiferth is hopeful, but told the New York Times"so far we do not know" how it'll play out.
"I hope Ping and Skip get a little penguin baby and become the best parents you've ever seen," she said. She did note that the couple has become more parental while trying to hatch this egg, though.
"They are a little bit angrier now, a little bit protective," Seiferth said. "They do not want us to come too close to them or too close to their egg. Before they had the egg they were very cool and were more relaxed. But they have a job now."
If the egg does hatch, then it'll be the first hatched penguin egg at Zoo Berlin since 2002.
This isn't the first time a same-sex penguin couple have raised a baby together. Last year, Sphen and Magic, two male gentoo penguins at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia, hatched an adopted chick. After building a pebble nest and "proving" their responsibility with a dummy egg, the couple was given a fertilized egg to incubate. Baby Sphengic, a female chick named after her adoptive parents' ship name, hatched in October.
Featured Video For You
A 400-year-old Japanese temple just introduced a robotic priest
-
“笋货”上市采购旺!清远西牛麻竹笋迎秋季尝鲜热HTC lays off nearly a quarter of its entire workforcePreparation underway for USA month into lockdown, Serie A torn over return to action全国土壤普查办抽验组到广东开展土壤普查质量抽验North Korea's Kim not ready to denuclearizeFBI arrested the troll who allegedly sent seizureDebbie Wasserman Schultz says debate schedule maximizes exposure.CeeDee Lamb secures recordThe Chinese government has had enough of your recipes and decor photos
- ·23 Peculiar Places of 2023
- ·交通灾后恢复重建 抢抓工期推进度 重建现场热火朝天
- ·Host city of ‘Couple Festival’ dismayed over Song couple’s divorce
- ·Banksy is back with 9 new fiery murals in Paris
- ·50 Years Later: The Revolutionary 8008 Microprocessor
- ·Trump says his letter to Kim was 'thank you' note
- ·Some disturbed and festive Trekkie made a gingerbread USS Enterprise going down in a fiery crash
- ·Strong 7.1
- ·雅安市举办首届“文轩教育”校园足球精英夏令营
- ·Swiss prosecutors to drop one case against former FIFA chief Blatter
- ·Strong 7.1
- ·Last body found confirmed as S. Korean missing in Danube boat sinking
- ·A Barbie flip phone is here from HMD
- ·Kid writes hilariously brutal answer to homework question about his favourite book
- ·WhatsApp is reintroducing text Status updates after user feedback
- ·Hannah Gadsby's 'Nanette' tackles the politics of self
- ·World's first 18650
- ·最美的风景在公益的路上……
- ·汉源县大田乡新堰社区推行依法治理 实现六个自我提升
- ·Ted Cruz donor Robert Mercer profiled.
- ·多措并举优治理 绘就幸福新图景
- ·‘National Assembly should recall, penalize underperforming lawmakers’: Democratic Party floor leader
- ·Connor Franta and other YouTube stars of the Democratic debate.
- ·Banksy is back with 9 new fiery murals in Paris
- ·Sinkhole swallows up car, injuring 2 in Seoul
- ·Kanye West is proud of his signed Trump 'Time' cover for some reason
- ·一针一线串起两代人的传承故事
- ·Jeff Bezos suits up in giant robot armor as Amazon prepares to take over the world
- ·Bella Thorne opts not to shave her legs for some dude on Twitter
- ·Ted Cruz donor Robert Mercer profiled.
- ·Our galaxy might crash into Andromeda. What would happen to Earth?
- ·Kanye West is proud of his signed Trump 'Time' cover for some reason
- ·‘National Assembly should recall, penalize underperforming lawmakers’: Democratic Party floor leader
- ·Even Selena Gomez feels like sh*t when she looks at Instagram
- ·“精致小春姐”顾春芳:华丽白西装、镶钻水晶拖鞋,带来新兴凉果No.1
- ·Fires return to California wine country as flames ravage dry land