Gay penguin ‘power couple’ to give update on family life in lockdown livestream
Sorry Kardashians, your time as the world's foremost TV family is over.
By Will Stroude
A gay penguin ‘power couple’ who generated international headlines after successfully hatching and rearing a chick are set to provide an update on life as a family in a special lockdown livestream.
Sphen and Magic, a pair of Gentoo penguins at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, will invite zookeepers into their enclosure to provide fans with the latest on life as dads to chick ‘Sphengic’, who was born in 2018.
The couple shot to international stardom two years ago when Sphen offered long-time friend Magic a ‘special stone’ – a sign of commitment for penguins – and the pair began building a nest of pebbles together.
After first providing the couple with a ‘dummy egg’, zookeepers later gave them a real egg to take care of, resulting in the birth of Sphengic soon after.
Despite a busy schedule that once included a mention on season two of Netflix’s Atypical, this weekend’s livestream will see Sphen and Magic pull back the curtain on their lives at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium.
The event, which is being held to mark World Penguin Day, will be streamed on Sea Life Sydney Aquarium’s Facebook page from 9am Australian Eastern Standard Time (00:00 BST) on Saturday 25 April.
Baby Gentoo penguin Sphengic enjoys a dip as dads Sphen and Magic look on
“Whether in attraction or via social media, we’re constantly inundated with questions about the Sphengic family, so we’re very excited to take Sphengic fans from all around the world behind the scenes in our Macquarie Island inspired exhibit!” said Tish Hannan, Penguin Department Supervisor.
“Join our entire penguin colony for some morning enrichment activities, before Q&A with our team who are ready to answer all of your burning Sphengic questions!”
Shen and Magic’s livestream will air on the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium Facebook page at at 9am AEST (12am BST) on Saturday 25 April.