Kolkute story komrade.
Gay Penguins Become Adoptive Parents on FynFor some time a pair of king penguins in Odense Zoo has been broody.
Their desire to be parents has been so ardent that during the breeding season this year they began to brood on dead herrings, although they both are both males, according to Anne Høyby from Odense Zoo.
And now it has astonishingly succeded. Not to create a young out of dead herrings, but to give the penguin couple a penguin young which they can take care of.
Whore Among the PenguinsThis is how it happened:
Normally king penguins only lay one egg during the breeding season. Among the penguins in the zoo, there was, however, a female penguin which first teamed with one male. While she was with him, she laid an egg, but afterwards she left him and the egg for another male penguin.
While she was with him, she produced another egg, but then left him as well and egg number two.
According to Odense Zoo this was not appropriate for the rejected males, who now stood with eggs but no mate, when king penguins are highly dependent on their mates during incubation.
Brooding With Roll of FatKing penguins hatch eggs by placing them on their feet, and then put their brooding-roll of fat* over the egg.
They are faithfully following the egg until their mate takes over the duty. Therefore it did not look good for the abandoned males, who stood alone with their eggs.
The keepers therefore made the decision to let the two childless gay penguins, who have been a couple for several years, adopt one egg from one of the two abandoned males.
Got Artificial EggsIn order to ensure that they could handle the task, they got an artificial egg to practice on. When zookeepers could see that they did the job fine, the penguins got the right egg.
The male penguins handled the task of incubating the egg. The young was born a few weeks ago, and it thrives and grows as it should.
Keepers now know that if they come in a similar situation, then the adoptive parents are ready, they tell from Odense Zoo.
Zoologist Nina Christensen also says that the kid from the other egg also hatched. The rejected father managed to handle the incubation himself.
Among king penguins and other birds, it is common to form pairs for a lifetime. It is also known that females or males pairs with the same sex. Less usual, however, that these breed chicks.
Source:
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2012/10/18/203313.htm*This may sound ridiculous, but I simply can't find any English translation for it which makes sense. It's a fat blob thing on their stomach I think.
