A Spanish aquarium is celebrating a new arrival in the form of a baby penguin.
Three chicks have been born this breeding season at Oceanogràfic València aquarium in the country's south-east, however one came into this world in a very special way.
A same-sex penguin couple called Electra and Viola adopted the egg and looked after it through the incubation period until it was ready to hatch.
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It's the first time a couple like this has managed to help hatch an egg at Oceanogràfic València and staff are thrilled.
In a statement on its website (and translated from Spanish) says: "The pair of the two females began, curiously, to have the usual attitude and actions prior to reproduction, such as building their own nest out of stones.
"Observing this situation, the caregivers decided to translocate a fertile egg from another couple. Electra and Viola successfully carried out the entire breeding process and now have their first calf.
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"The reproduction of penguins is at all times a thing of two. It begins with the construction of the nests that consist of a round pile of pebbles, which they lift with great care and care. Depending on the circumstances, they can be 20 centimetres on a side.
"The stones are a very precious asset for these animals, so that is usually a matter of controversy, because their owners keep them at all costs and their defence can end in a dispute. In fact, the pebbles can be part of the courtship by the male."
Out of the 25 Gentoo penguins, only three couples were selected to help with breeding this year and Electra and Viola have played an instrumental role.
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It might sound bizarre, but Oceanogràfic València says same-sex animal couples occur all the time in nature and there are 450 species that exhibit these tendencies in zoos and in the wild.
Two male penguins helped bring an egg to hatch at Sydney's SEA LIFE Aquarium back in 2018, which was welcomed with much fanfare.
Sphen and Magic started preparing their nest of pebbles and staff gave them a fake egg to see how they would react. After being blown away by their dedication to the potential baby, they gave 'Sphengic' a real egg and they helped welcome the baby penguin.