“The formation of same-sex pairs is common in more than 450 species of animals and occurs both in zoos and in nature.”
The Oceanogràfic València aquarium announced a same-sex penguin couple has welcomed a baby chick, after adopting the egg earlier this year.
The Spanish aquarium located in Valencia, shared the news that Electra and Violet, “began to have the usual attitude and actions prior to reproduction,” as they worked hard on building a new nest together out of stones.
Electra and Violet are among 25 gentoo penguins at the aquarium and are the third happy couple to welcome a baby chick during breeding season this year.
Penguins often lay two eggs at a time, and on average it takes 38 days to hatch. Both parents take turns incubating their beloved egg until it hatches and then continue to incubate the newborn for another 75 days until the baby chick becomes independent enough to withstand life on it’s own.
Oceanogràfic València aquarium noted that the couple is, “an exceptional pair,” on their Facebook page as they shared the exciting news.
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The decision to adopt came down to the aquarium caregivers who gave the couple another penguin’s extra egg to incubate.
Although this is the first same-sex couple to adopt at the Spanish aquarium, it’s fairly common at other zoos, including ones in Sydney, London and Berlin.
The Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia was one of the first to announce that two of their male penguins adopted their own babies, Sphen and Magic in 2018.
The aquariums press release concluded, “The formation of same-sex pairs is common in more than 450 species of animals and occurs both in zoos and in nature, it’s the first time this has happened in our aquarium.”
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