Sydney’s gay penguin parents are trying to hatch their second egg together

Sphen and Magic
Photo: YouTube screencapture

Sphen and Magic, a gay penguin couple at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium who hatched an egg last year, have been given a second egg by zookeepers with the hopes of adding to their fine feathered family.

Zookeepers gave them the egg when they noticed the pair making a nest (called a “clutch”) right on time for the spring/summer mating season. It’s unclear though whether their egg is fertilized, but zookeepers are watching with great interest.

Related: The London Zoo’s gay penguin couples are celebrating Pride this year

The zoo’s penguin supervisor Tish Hannan told 10Daily.com, “They have the neatest and largest nest in the colony and when we noticed that another couple were struggling to incubate two eggs at the same time, we made the decision to foster the second egg to the power couple of the colony.”

Hannan also reports that the couple’s first chick, Baby Sphengic (a mash-up of Sphen and Magic’s names), had “an excellent start to life under their care.” She called Sphengic “a bundle of energy and very loud.”

“She’s matured nicely,” Hannan added, “but still quite unsure as to what all the adults are doing this breeding season.”

If Sphen and Magic’s egg is fertilized, then Sphengic may have a sibling in just a few weeks…

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