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| Inca sitting on his egg while Rayas keeps watch. Photo courtesy of The Faunia Park Zoo, Madrid, Spain |
By Brody Levesque | MADRID, SPAIN -- A same sex aquatic bird couple in Spain has been allowed to adopt an egg to nurture. Inca and Rayas, a Gentoo gay penguin couple at the Faunia Park Zoo, have suffered from repeated heartache for a long time according to zookeeper Yolanda Martin. The pair had carefully built and lovingly looked after six nests, but those nests remained sadly empty.
Martin noted that Inca and Rayas had longingly watched the other penguin couples welcome their little chicks into the world, and finally after zookeepers took pity on them, the gay birds now appear delighted to finally have been given the chance to enjoy “parenthood.”
According to Martin, Inca has taken on the "female" role of incubating the donated egg (that is due to hatch in June), and sits loyally on his child to be while even turning down the chance to get his feathers wet with a refreshing swim. Meanwhile, his 'husband' Rayas keeps a watchful eye on their nest and chases off any potential predators or gawkers.
“We wanted them to have something to stay together for — so we got an egg. Otherwise they might have become depressed," said Martin.
Inca and Rayas aren’t the first gay penguins to be given a helping hand by zookeepers. Time magazine reported last December on another gay penguin couple.
The zookeepers at Harbin Polar Land Zoo in northern China embraced their eccentric penguins by not only giving them a same-sex wedding ceremony but also providing them with their very own baby chick to care for.
The pair, named Adam and Steve, had a history of stealing eggs from the 'straight' couples during hatching season, so when keepers noticed that a mother of recently hatched twins was struggling with her parenting duties, they decided to give Adam and Steve the baby they were looking for. ~ Time magazine
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2 comments:
I do hope none of our straight friends give my husband and I, an egg to hatch. At our age we're having enough trouble keeping each other warm.
I'm impressed by their efforts to steal a baby from straight couples, many of whom have no business being parents at all...when you look at many of their domestic disputes. Nevertheless, I don't endorse simple confiscation of others' offspring as a solution, so it is nice to see that some people can recognize the reality of nature's prerogative in assigning gender identity, and step forward to ensure that everyone is happy. Well done, zoo keepers in Spain and China.
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