A British Aquarium has announced that a Gentoo penguin chick adopted by a same-sex set of penguin parents will be raised as gender-neutral by its keepers.
According to a CNN report, the chick will not be named or characterized as male or female. Sea Life aquarium in London told the network that it will be “the world’s first penguin to not have its gender assigned.” If the “genderless” penguin is eventually named, it will be given a gender-neutral name, a report at the Daily Mail explains.
This is all happening because aquarists “decided it was more natural for the chick to grow and develop into a mature adult as genderless, which is normal in the wild until they mature,” according to a news release.
“While the decision may ruffle a few feathers, gender neutrality in humans has only recently become a widespread topic of conversation, however, it is completely natural for penguins to develop genderless identities as they grow into mature adults,” general manager Graham McGrath said in a statement. – READ MORE