Feathers f ly at the zoo after gay penguins ‘kidnap’ chick when parents waddle off

IT was a family drama that led to the most unusual of custody battles.

Two gay penguins ‘kidnapped’ the chick of a heterosexual pair because they thought it was being neglected, a zookeeper says.

The male Humboldts had been desperate to become fathers and seized their opportunity after the chick’s parents waddled away.

The incident at Odense Zoo in Denmark led to a raucous battle between the grownups. Happily, all has now been resolved.

Zookeeper Sandie Hedegard Munck laid the blame squarely at the feet of the chick’s biological father.

‘I went to the enclosure and could see something was wrong,’ she told broadcaster DR. ‘The parents were gone and their offspring had been kidnapped. The female is very caring for the kid. I think she had been out to get her bath, and it had been the male’s turn to care for the kid. He may have then left, and the [gay] couple thought, “It’s a pity, we’ll take it”.’

Footage on the zoo’s Facebook page shows the mother later squawking in distress as she tries to reclaim her baby, while the gay couple huddle around it.

The dispute was settled after the zoo returned the chick to its parents. But the episode had a happy ending for the aspiring fathers – the zoo gave them an egg from a new mother who was too ill to look after her offspring.

Penguins are known to form same-sex relationships just like humans.

Here comes trouble: As the gay penguins look after the chick, circled, its mother and father return

Squawking match: The parents, left, confront the gay penguins guarding the chick, circled

Fatherly instincts: The two gay penguins with the chick