Two 10-year-old male King penguins at Zoo Berlin are getting a chance to have their ambition to start a family granted. According to the New York Times, Ping and Skip came to the zoo earlier this year and right away began looking for an egg to hatch. The couple tried rocks and even a fish, attempting to cuddle and warm the items the way they would an egg. Zoo spokesperson, Maximilian Jäger told the Times that “It is very common that two penguins of the same sex come together. I don’t think it is the majority of penguins, but it is not rare either. We are sure they would be good parents because they were so nice to their stone.”
And so when another female penguin at the zoo laid an egg in July, the zoo keepers thought it best to give Ping and Skip a shot at hatching the egg. The 22-year-old female penguin had never been able to successfully hatch an egg herself. Keeper Norbert Zahmel told Reuters that “Both are looking after the egg in an exemplary manner.”
No one knows if the egg is fertile and while the German public has become intrigued by the “gay penguin” couple and their dreams of becoming parents, we will not know until next month when the egg should hatch. The zoo hasn’t had a “successful hatching” since 2002, and so lots of fingers are being crossed as we wait.
Anja Seiferth is the penguin keeper at Zoo Berlin, telling the Times that “I hope Ping and Skip get a little penguin baby and become the best parents you’ve ever seen,” Ms. Seiferth said. “I hope that is what happens.”
Me too