'Gay' Penguin Couple Who Wanted Chicks Steal Eggs from Other Penguins

The Stolen Egg Turns Out to Be an Unfertilized Egg Laid by a Lesbian Penguin Couple
Despite Constant Incubation, It Does Not Hatch

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] A funny yet sad story has become a hot topic where a gay penguin couple, desperate to have chicks, ended up with stolen eggs that turned out to belong to a lesbian couple, ultimately failing to achieve their wish.

On the 21st (local time), according to the British daily Daily Mail, at DierenPark Zoo in Amersfoort, Netherlands, two male African penguins, a same-sex couple, stole an entire egg laid by another penguin couple and incubated it.

The gay couple took turns incubating the egg, while the penguin not incubating was responsible for fetching food.

However, zookeeper Sander Drost said that the eggs the gay couple was incubating were infertile eggs laid by a female same-sex couple and would not hatch.

The gay penguin couple had long wished for chicks. In November last year, they also stole eggs but failed to hatch them as they belonged to lesbian penguins, and it turned out that the eggs stolen this time were also from a lesbian penguin couple.

The zookeeper hinted, "This gay couple is the leader of the zoo's penguins, so even if they steal others' eggs at will, the other penguins cannot do anything about it."

Zookeeper Mark Belt said, "Homosexuality is common among penguins, but cases where a gay couple wants chicks and tries to incubate eggs like this couple are rare."

However, cases of same-sex penguin couples successfully hatching eggs have also been reported.

In August last year, at an aquarium in Valencia, Spain, a gay Gentoo penguin couple named Electra and Viola successfully hatched an egg.

Also, in October 2018, a gay Gentoo penguin couple named Spin and Magic at the Sea Life Aquarium in Sydney, Australia, hatched eggs successfully.

Meanwhile, same-sex couples have been found in 95% of all animals, including wolves and elephants, in the animal kingdom.