Feb 11, 2019 03:30 AM
(video) https://www.cbsnews.com/video/same-sex-p...aby-chick/
EXCERPT: At the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia, true love has found a way for two penguins: Sphen, a seven-year-old male, and his three-year-old male partner, Magic. "About three months before breeding season, that's when we started to see signs of bonding," said penguin supervisor Tish Hannan. "That includes bowing to each other and singing to each other."
Before long, Sphen and Magic were exchanging pebbles, and using them to set up housekeeping. "We noticed they started building the most beautiful nest they could possibly make," said Hannan. Sphen and Magic went on to hatch a baby chick from a penguin egg they'd been given to sit on – a noteworthy event, said Hannan: "The real special thing about Sphen and Magic is they're one of a handful of same-sex couples that have actually incubated and raised a chick."
MORE: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/same-sex-pe...aby-chick/
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HISTORY OF SAME-SEX PENGUIN COUPLES: Roy and Silo (born 1987) are chinstrap penguins which were a same-sex male pair in New York City's Central Park Zoo. They were noted by staff at the zoo in 1998 to be performing mating rituals, although no actual sexual acts were witnessed [...] In 1999 the pair were observed trying to hatch a rock as if it were an egg. They also attempted to steal eggs from other penguin couples. When the zoo staff realized that Roy and Silo were both male, they tested them further by replacing the rock with a dummy egg made of stone and plaster. As it was "incubated real well", it occurred to the zoo keepers to give them the second egg of a mixed-sex penguin couple, a couple which previously had been unable to successfully hatch two eggs at a time. Roy and Silo incubated the egg for 34 days and spent two and a half months raising the healthy young chick, a female named "Tango". When she reached breeding age, Tango paired with another female penguin called Tanuzi. As of 2005, the two had paired for two mating seasons.
Shortly after their story broke in the press, Roy and Silo began to separate after a more aggressive pair of penguins forced them out of their nest. In 2005, Silo found another partner, a female called Scrappy, which had been brought from SeaWorld Orlando in 2002. Roy joined a group of unattached male penguins. As of 2012, Roy and Silo are both thought to still be alive at around 25 years old, with the Central Park Zoo's website stating that penguins in captivity can live up to 30 years.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_and_Silo
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EXCERPT: At the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia, true love has found a way for two penguins: Sphen, a seven-year-old male, and his three-year-old male partner, Magic. "About three months before breeding season, that's when we started to see signs of bonding," said penguin supervisor Tish Hannan. "That includes bowing to each other and singing to each other."
Before long, Sphen and Magic were exchanging pebbles, and using them to set up housekeeping. "We noticed they started building the most beautiful nest they could possibly make," said Hannan. Sphen and Magic went on to hatch a baby chick from a penguin egg they'd been given to sit on – a noteworthy event, said Hannan: "The real special thing about Sphen and Magic is they're one of a handful of same-sex couples that have actually incubated and raised a chick."
MORE: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/same-sex-pe...aby-chick/
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HISTORY OF SAME-SEX PENGUIN COUPLES: Roy and Silo (born 1987) are chinstrap penguins which were a same-sex male pair in New York City's Central Park Zoo. They were noted by staff at the zoo in 1998 to be performing mating rituals, although no actual sexual acts were witnessed [...] In 1999 the pair were observed trying to hatch a rock as if it were an egg. They also attempted to steal eggs from other penguin couples. When the zoo staff realized that Roy and Silo were both male, they tested them further by replacing the rock with a dummy egg made of stone and plaster. As it was "incubated real well", it occurred to the zoo keepers to give them the second egg of a mixed-sex penguin couple, a couple which previously had been unable to successfully hatch two eggs at a time. Roy and Silo incubated the egg for 34 days and spent two and a half months raising the healthy young chick, a female named "Tango". When she reached breeding age, Tango paired with another female penguin called Tanuzi. As of 2005, the two had paired for two mating seasons.
Shortly after their story broke in the press, Roy and Silo began to separate after a more aggressive pair of penguins forced them out of their nest. In 2005, Silo found another partner, a female called Scrappy, which had been brought from SeaWorld Orlando in 2002. Roy joined a group of unattached male penguins. As of 2012, Roy and Silo are both thought to still be alive at around 25 years old, with the Central Park Zoo's website stating that penguins in captivity can live up to 30 years.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_and_Silo
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