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GAY penguin couple Molly and Guido have become fathers. The all-male couple, inseparable since pairing up at the East London Aquarium over a year ago, have successfully incubated a neighbouring couple‘s egg and are now the proud dads of a two-week-old chick.

Aquarium curator Siani Tinley says the couple‘s parenting skills are on a par with heterosexual African penguins and they have been taking turns caring for their little penguin, just like any other couple would.

“One sits over her in their nest, while the other swims and feeds and they seem to be doing a good job feeding their chick, although it is still early days,” said Tinley.

Earlier this year, aquarium staff realised the loved-up birds were a same sex couple after they failed to produce an egg and blood tests revealed both were males.

A few months ago Molly (named when it was thought he was female) and Guido were given an egg that had been kicked out by another couple, but it was found lying outside their nest a few weeks later.

Then a month ago, the couple showed signs of broodiness when they were found nesting on an Energade bottle cap. To help out, aquarium staff slipped a real egg into their nest which the couple successfully incubated until it hatched two weeks ago.

“We have a couple here who are bad parents but who laid two eggs, so we took one of their eggs, did a quiet swop with a fake egg and gave the real one to Molly and Guido,” explained Tinley. “We were quite chuffed when it hatched – it‘s very sweet,” she smiled.

The proud parents feed their baby by regurgitating fish into its beak, but once weaned, the young penguin fends for itself, while its parents remain together for life.

Molly and Guido are the first gay penguins at the East London Aquarium, and have been a popular attraction ever since their sexual orientation was discovered.

When Weekend Post visited the aquarium, Guido was nestled protectively in front of his chick, whose little beak sometimes came into view from behind its dad‘s back.