Meet the German gay penguins who are 'model parents'

"We are sure they would be good parents because they were so nice to their stone."

The gay king penguins Skipper and Ping in their zoo enclosure at Berlin Zoo. Source: picture alliance via Getty Images

Look, gay penguins are to the LGBTIQ+ community what the British Royal Family are to royalists.

We just can't get enough.

We've got our very own couple in Sydney, Sphen and Magig; Ireland has some, Penelope and Misty - and we can't forget London's very politically engaged Ronald and Reggie.

Now Berlin Zoo is having its moment, sharing news that local same-sex king penguin couple Skipper and Ping have not only adopted an abandoned egg, but become "model parents".

According to zoo spokesperson Maximilian Jäger, the clucky couple had been known to "try to hatch fish and stones", before taking ownership of the egg and "behaving like model parents, taking turns to keep the egg warm".

Speaking to the New York Times, Jäger also said, "We are sure they would be good parents because they were so nice to their stone."

"We just had to put it on the feet of one of the guys, and he already knew what to do," zookeeper Norbert Zahmel told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.

According to the BBC, the 10-year-old penguins were each moved to Berlin from from Hamburg's Hagenbeck Zoo earlier this year, and have been a clear item ever since.

There is some sad news, however. While Skipper and Ping have taken to their parental roles with gusto, there's a chance the egg was never fertilised - with zookeepers waiting in anticipation alongside the couple.

Fingers and toes, Skipper and Ping. Fingers and toes.