'Gay' penguins steal abandoned egg to raise chick as their own

19 November 2019 - 05:16 By Cebelihle Bhengu
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Two male black-footed penguins stole an egg to hatch as their own at DierenPark Zoo Amersfoort in the Netherlands.
Two male black-footed penguins stole an egg to hatch as their own at DierenPark Zoo Amersfoort in the Netherlands.
Image: Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

Two male black-footed penguins from DierenPark Amersfoort Zoo in the Netherlands are making global news headlines after they adopted an egg to raise as their own. It isn't clear whether the egg has been fertilised, but the couple is giving it their all by taking turns to keep it warm, according to Pink News

The publication reported that the “gay” couple stole the egg because it was not being taken care of by its parents, who have since produced a new one, according to an Instagram post by the zoo.

“Gay” penguins have proved themselves to be capable parents, but a couple going as far as stealing an egg is unheard of. 

TimesLIVE reported in August that two black-footed penguins, Skipper and Ping, were gifted an egg by staff at Germany's Berlin Zoo.

Zookeeper Norbert Zahmel said the couple was an “excellent choice” to be adoptive parents.


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