The #1 couple of 2018, sweet angel boy penguins Sphen and Magic who call Sydney‘s Sea Life Aquarium their home, have expanded their precious rainbow family and hatched their first foster chick together as a penguin couple.
It’s fine, I’m fine, I’m just weeping over how pure and precious this is.
The wee chick who doesn’t yet have a name but staff are calling the little one Baby Sphengic (which is equal parts adorable and sounds like some kind of infantile virus), hatched into the world on Friday, October 19 at 5.45pm, to the absolute delight of everyone who’s been following this adorable story.
BABY SPHENGIC IS HERE! 🐧😍🎉 Born Friday 19th October @ 5:46pm, weighing just 91g! Gender TBC in 2 months. Both dads are doing well and are so in love with their precious bub. 🐧🐧 Full story: https://t.co/3Nllhq3N3o #BabySphengic pic.twitter.com/yESrjbLXqI
— SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium (@SEALIFESydney) October 26, 2018
Oh, my HEART. My cold dead heart has begun to FEEL again.
Look at the video below and tell me that you’re not extremely overwhelmed with emotions because of how fuckin’ ADORABLE this is. Even though he’s doing that grot regurgitation thing to feed the baby. I DON’T CARE.
[jwplayer m8QahBvd]
The wee one (sorry I can’t bring myself to call it Baby Sphengic, I just can’t) is actually the first of its breed to be hatched in the Sydney Aquarium’s breeding program. The little pingu is a Sub-Antarctic Gentoo penguin, who joins the colony of pengies that arrived at the aquarium back in 2016.
The tiny peeper is currently being kept warm and protected by its foster papas, who were given the egg to incubate after being so successful with their dummy egg.
In the wild, Gentoo penguins tend to lay two eggs but typically lose one of the chicks as they’re unable to take care of both. Having Sphen and Magic step in on incubation duties allows the “back up” chick to get a red hot go at life, and expand the colony.
Sphen and Magic completely destroyed our hearts not long ago when it was announced that the pair had developed a precious bond, and Sphen gifted Magic a special heart-shaped stone – a significant gesture in penguin life for “hey, you’re my penguin and I love you.”
Visitors can go and see the penguin couple and their little baby at the penguin enclosure from today, and the chick will be burrowing under the feathery down of its dads for the next few weeks while it gets healthy and strong.
