More than three years later, the loving penguin dads are still together!

Almost all of the young penguin lovers at a Sydney aquarium are pretty terrible parents.

These penguin parents will be distracted by the temptation outside and go swimming and playing in the water... In this way, the egg at home will be "cold" and the cold penguin egg may die. However, this is normal for inexperienced penguins. The aquarium managers are not worried at all, and they believe that the situation will get better in the next mating season.

However, among this group of new parents, there was one couple that stood out from the rest.

A pair of penguin dads became celebrities

The performance of these two penguins is far better than other penguin parents. They built a largest love nest with pebbles and took turns to sit in the house to incubate eggs. Although the eggs were adopted, they gave the warmest care. And the most successful new parents... No, not parents, but two dads - they are the only gay couple here.

On October 19, 2018, the egg hatched, and it was the only chick to successfully hatch at that time.

Two penguin fathers hatched baby penguins | LGBTQ Nation

This lucky little penguin has two good fathers, one is called Sphen and the other is called Magic. So, it is temporarily called "Sphengic", which is also the CP name of the two fathers.

S, Pony and Sma | sydneyaquarium.com.au

When Stoudemire and Pony became lovers, Australians were struggling to legalize same-sex marriage (which was legalized in late 2017). Same-sex marriage in humans has sparked intense personal and religious conflicts, and these two Gentoo penguins, who are completely unaware of the political turmoil, have become a larger symbol in Australia - if a colony of penguins can figure out the issue of same-sex marriage, then a human country can certainly do the same.

Australia is famous for its dangerous animals, including the world's most dangerous snakes and spiders, sturdy kangaroos, and great white sharks that stare at surfers... Suddenly, Australia's most famous animal stars have become two gay penguins. Of course, their keepers are very happy about this.

Stoudemire (front) and Pony (lying on the nest) | Sydney Aquarium

They are only interested in each other

However, the breeder couldn't explain how Xiao Si and Xiao Ma got together in the first place.

Stoudemire, 6, from Sea World in Queensland, is taller and has a bigger beak. He is quieter and more serious, and shows no interest in toys or people.

The pony is 3 years old and was born in Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium. He chases toys and anything that glows. He also greets visitors.

The only thing these two penguins have in common is that they are both male. But when Stoudemire and Pony met at Sydney SEA LIFE Aquarium that summer, their behavior said it all.

First, they began bowing to each other, a courtship gesture performed by Gentoo penguins.

They gave each other carefully selected pebbles, which meant they were ready to build a love nest together. If one of them didn't mean that, he would push the stone away with his mouth to express his refusal. However, both Little Si and Little Ma liked the pebbles brought by the other.

That means "yes," said senior penguin keeper Amy Lawrie.

Then they began to sing. Little S and Little Pony huddled close together, singing to each other until they knew each other's voices by heart.

Gentoo penguin courtship | Mountains Of Travel Photos

"You'll see Pony stand there and look for Squirrel and call out to Squirrel, and Squirrel will come over and bow to Pony and sing along," said Tish Hannan, the aquarium's penguin keeper. "They choose each other, and just like that, they form a relationship."

Meanwhile, the 30-odd penguins in the aquarium were still flirting. It often takes some time for young penguins to choose a mate.

"They can recognize the calls of several penguins and bow to multiple penguins," Hannah said. However, "we didn't see this behavior in either Xiao Si or Xiao Ma. They are not interested in other penguins in the pavilion."

Learning to be a good father

“We knew they would start picking up rocks,” Hannah said, “and we knew they would make the best nests.”

Gentoo penguins usually lay two eggs, one of which is actually a spare. They will focus on taking care of one egg, and the spare egg is often ignored, and rarely noticed when it is lost. The breeder first gave Sma CP a fake egg, and after seeing that they incubated it well, he gave them a real penguin egg.

After getting the penguin eggs, Xiao Si and Xiao Ma began to take turns sitting on the eggs for 28 days.

On the left is the pony at home, on the right is Little Si who just returned home | sydneyaquarium.com.au

For Gentoo penguins, the first sign of good parenting is that they can recognize an egg that is about to hatch and know that the chick is ready to break out of the shell. "As soon as the chick shows its little face, it can talk to its parents. Xiao Si and Xiao Ma realized this and started singing to it before the chick hatched," said Hannah.

For the first few months of life, the baby stays with its parents. Stoudemire and Pony feed it, sing to it, and put it to bed at night. However, like all couples, Stoudemire and Pony have their challenges, mostly related to their age difference.

Sculpture made by netizens for the Little Sima family | instazu@doubledudelove

"The colt is young, and in the first few days, he will try to shirk his responsibilities as a father," Hannah said. "Sometimes, he will be like, 'You feed the baby today,' and then rush out and jump into the water."

But slowly, the pony learned to raise the baby together. When the pony was feeding the baby, Little S would come over and sing to his partner and baby.

“Stan sings to encourage the pony,” Hannah said. “That way, the pony knows he’s doing the right thing.”

Caretaker Tish Hannan with 10-day-old Sma

They are still a model couple

Now, little Sma has grown up completely.

Little Sma is a girl, and although she only has one father, penguin parents, regardless of gender, have equal responsibility for raising their young and building and maintaining their love nests. Therefore, Little Sma can still learn the skills of raising offspring from two fathers, and when she grows up, she will play the role of both father and mother, just like Little Sma and Little Ma.

A young Smaalp is shedding its juvenile down feathers

In 2020, Stoudemire and Pony adopted a second egg. In November of that year, their second unrelated child, Clancy, was successfully hatched.

In fact, many penguins are not so "loyal" and will look for new partners in the next mating season. However, more than three years have passed and Xiao Si and Xiao Ma are still together.

The keeper said they are one of the most loyal companions in the aquarium. Now, Xiao Ma still regularly collects the most perfect pebbles for Xiao Si. There are even many novice penguin couples who will build nests next to them. The keeper believes that this is probably to learn from Xiao Si and Xiao Ma.

The second child of Stoudemire and Pony｜visitsealife.com

After Little Si and Little Pony became famous, tourists would go to see them specifically and ask which two were gay.

Some people object to the use of the word "homosexual".

“The word ‘unnatural’ was used a lot,” said Samantha Antoun, the aquarium’s communications manager. “Some people said we shouldn’t say they’re gay because they could just be friends.”

In response, penguin keepers said they would not bring politics onto the ice.

Stoudemire and Pony are still together｜visitsealife.com

"We won't force a couple to break up," said breeder Lowry. "Love is love."

c.2019 New York Times News Service, edited and revised

By Nellie Bowles

Compiled by: Cloud_You, Mai Mai

Editor: Fangorn

Reference Links:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/style/gay-penguins-australia.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

https://www.sydneyaquarium.com.au/news/penguin-gender-reveal/

Source: Guokr (ID: Guokr42)

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