[2] Magic and Sphen first met in the summer of 2018 at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium,[2][3] where they were part of a colony of 33 penguins.
During mating season, aquarium managers noted that the couple had made the biggest nest and had sat on it constantly, taking turns to do so for 28 days, a significantly better result than the other penguins.
[2] The aquarium's penguin keepers made the decision that the pair should be allowed to raise a chick, and alerted leadership that this would be the case, which executives embraced.
Responses to this varied, with some homophobic commenters arguing that the word "gay" should not be used for the penguins, that they were "just friends" and that their relationship was "unnatural".
[9] The penguins inspired a float for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, featured in the Netflix comedy-drama series Atypical,[7] and were referenced in Australia's education syllabus.