Same-sex penguin couple become parents after successfully hatching egg

A same-sex penguin couple has become parents after the egg they had adopted and nursed finally hatched.

The incredible news was revealed by the Oceanografic Park and Aquarium in Valencia, Spain, in a touching Facebook post.

Translated from Spanish, the post revealed that Electra and Viola, two female penguins from Oceanogràfic València, had successfully hatched another couple's egg - giving them their first chick.

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The Facebook post added that same-sex couple formations are common in more than 450 species in both nature and zoos, but Electra and Viola's arrival marks the first time it had happened for Oceanogràfic València.

Check out the adorable chick with its moms in the video below:

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An article on the Oceanogràfic València website revealed that keepers first noticed Electra and Viola showing signs of being a couple when they started building their own nest out of stones.

Deciding that it would be best to let the penguin pair start their own family, the zookeepers decided to take a fertile egg from another couple and give it to Electra and Viola.

The gender of their new baby chick is unknown as blood tests cannot be carried out until the chick is six weeks old.

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The unnamed chick is one of three new additions to have been born into the colony of 25 gentoo penguins this breeding season. The zoo also announced that couples Navi and Aquela and Bolo and Melibe also welcomed a chick.

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Per National Geographic, gentoo penguins "often form long-lasting bonds" and "are highly nurturing."

A post on the incredible birds reads:

"At breeding time, both parents will work to build a circular nest of stones, grass, moss, and feathers. The mother then deposits two spherical, white eggs, which both parents take turns incubating for more than a month. Hatchlings remain in the nest for up to a month, and the parents alternate foraging and brooding duties."

Congratulations to Electra and Viola! We cannot wait to see your family grow!