Same-sex penguin couple adopts chick neglected by bio parents

A male penguin couple snatched a chick from another pair of birds within their home at Denmark’s Odense zoo this week. According to zookeeper Sandie Hedgegård Munck, the couple decided the chick’s parents weren’t fit to look after the baby — and waited for the perfect moment to take action.

The parenting scuffle went down while the baby penguin in question’s parents went for a swim in the creatures’ exhibit.

via People

One day later, the chick’s biological parents wanted their baby back. In a video posted on the Odense Zoo’s Facebook page, the parents can be seen confronting the baby’s new adoptive family, who protectively nuzzled the chick in between their legs.

After their encounter turned physical, the chick was given back to his biological parents, and the couple was rewarded for their paternal skills: They were given an egg from a female penguin that was unable to care for her child.

Photo via Facebook