Sphen and Magic, the famous gay penguin couple in SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, are making headlines again after becoming parents for the second time. Two years ago, the pair gained worldwide fame after adopting a spare egg and raising it as their own. Now, they have successfully hatched another egg together.

Back in 2018, the couple was seen trying to hatch a rock so the keepers gave them a spare egg instead. Seems that they both have strong parental instincts after being able to hatch and nurture their first child named Lara.

Lara is now an adult and the couple was given a second chance to become fathers again.

A spokesperson from the aquarium said that they were delighted with the news, saying:

“If one of our pairs has too many eggs or are not good at looking after their eggs we will sometimes foster these eggs out to other pairs like Sphen and Magic. We gave Sphen and Magic an egg to incubate as they have proven to be good parents in the past.”

Sphen and Magic’s second egg hatched along with the other Gentoo Penguin babies that hatched in the aquarium’s Sub-Antarctic Zone. Sea Life Sydney Aquarium’s Penguin Supervisor, Kerrie Dixon, released a statement saying:

“We are beyond excited to welcome the new penguin chicks to our colony. They are doing really well and gaining weight. They started at around 95 grams, now our oldest is almost 2kg and the youngest is sitting at around 399 grams,”

The staff first noticed Sphen and Magic’s blossoming bond two years ago when they were almost inseparable. They started taking swims together and as soon as the breeding season started, the pair began collecting rocks for their love nest.

The keepers also noticed that they were trying to hatch a rock so they gave them a dummy egg instead. They were astounded as to how Sphen and Magic cared for their egg so the staff decided that they were beyond ready to foster an egg on their own.

As it turns out, same-sex pairings in the animal kingdom are very common. The penguin team in the aquarium explained that same-sex behavior is a lot more common in nature than most people realize.

“Penguins, including Gentoo penguins, are among the many species in which male-male or female-female pairs occur frequently. Adopting of eggs in the wild can occur with an abandoned egg; however, it is likely that this egg could be infertile, which is why it has been left.”

“Females will also mate with males before returning to their female-female pair and subsequently lay an egg that the females both raise. In human care, they have proven to be wonderful parent options and will care for and nurture their egg and chick as if it were their own.”

Sphen and Magic are truly nurturing and amazing parents to both Lara and their newborn chick.

“Lara is now two years old and surprising us everyday with how independent she is. Despite still being relatively young, she attempted to take part in this year’s breeding season. She and her partner set up a nest and carefully watched over it but unfortunately weren’t successful in hatching an offspring. We look forward to seeing how she goes next year and whether she’ll give Sphen and Magic a little grand penguin chick.”

After caring for their second adopted egg, the gay couple is now having a much-deserved break since the chick is now big enough to join the aquarium’s creche.

“During this time, the keepers are having beautiful bonding time with the chicks. Once their adult feathers have come through fully, we will have the extremely fun job of teaching them to swim, before they graduate and get to join the colony full-time.”

Get a glimpse of the new Gentoo Penguin chicks by watching the video below!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Bored Panda, Star Observer, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium