Gay Humboldt penguin couple Jumbs and Kermit were given an adoptive egg after a female Humboldt penguin's male partner refused to help incubate it.
Gay penguins are rearing a chick that was abandoned by its parents at a wildlife park in Kent http://t.co/9unLTg2Z1f
Park owner Tony Binskin's wife stated that Hurricane, the abandoning male penguin, was a "very inconsiderate partner" to Isobel, the female penguin, stating it was as if he was "happy to get Isobel pregnant" but "seems to think that his job is done".
However, since their baby hatched a month ago, Binskin says Jumbs and Kermit have "so far proven to be two of the best penguin parents we have had yet."
He explained that Jumbs and Kermit first became a couple back in 2012, and while it was "nice to see two of our birds pair up" but that it "actually meant that we were left with not two but four birds unable to reproduce within our collection."
Binskin also said that having Jumbo and Kermit as "such good surrogate parents" was a "huge bonus" for the Wildlife Park.
"Whilst pair bonding often results in no result other than eliminating those two animals from the breeding population of that species, in captivity it can have greatly positive effects.
"We are still very much starting our breeding efforts with this species, and this is only our second year of breeding, but having such good surrogate parents available should we need them is a huge bonus for us."
A very important day for gay penguin parents everywhere.
