Gay penguin couple adopt abandoned egg at Berlin Zoo

Gay couple Ping and Skipper (centre) enjoy a tender moment at Berlin Zoo, where they hope to soon become proud parents
REUTERS

Two gay male penguins have been caring for an abandoned egg in their long quest to become parents, Berlin Zoo has revealed.

Same-sex couple Skipper and Ping dream of having a chick of their own and have even been known to "try to hatch fish and stones", according to zoo spokesman Maximilian Jäger.

He told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper that the egg had been abandoned by the zoo’s only female king penguin.

The two males subsequently adopted the egg, and have since been "behaving like model parents”.

Loving couple Ping and Skipper at their home in Berlin Zoo
REUTERS

Mr Jäger said the loving pair were “taking turns to keep the egg warm" by nestling it on their feet under a flap of belly skin.

Skipper and Ping are now working hard to protect their bundle of joy from jealous rivals, with a little help from their human guardians.

Ping (left) and a friend check out the view from their watery enclosure
REUTERS

"We just had to put it on the feet of one of the guys, and he already knew what to do," said zookeeper Norbert Zahmel.

The female in the group of six king penguins has reportedly shown little interest in her eggs recently, and the zoo hasn't had a chick since 2002.

“A successful hatching would be great," Mr Zahmel told German news site BZ.

The 10-year-old couple reportedly moved to Berlin from Hamburg's Hagenbeck Zoo in April and have been inseparable ever since.

Penguins are said to mate for life, and same-sex pairings have been observed both in the wild and in captivity.

London Zoo held its own Pride weekend to celebrate several gay couples within its 93 Humboldt penguin population.

And Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium in Ireland revealed in May that it has a gay penguin majority, with eight out of its 14 gentoo penguins coupled up with a partner of the same sex.

However, Skipper and Ping should not count their chicks before they hatch.

"The thing is, we don't know if the egg was fertilised," Mr Jäger warned.

If the parent hopefuls do see their wish granted, Berlin Zoo will welcome its first chick born to a same-sex couple in early September.

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