For the first time , a couplet of gay vultureshave become parentsafter successfully hatching a foster egg at a menagerie in Amsterdam .
The couple of malegriffon vultures(Gyps fulvus ) were given the abandoned nut by zookeepers at Artis Amsterdam Royal Zoo . For two month , the couple nursed and incubated the egg in the nest they both helped build up . The chick successfully hatched , and now the new dads both take care of the biddy , regurgitating nutrient into its mouth .
" We have had them for some class . They always work up a nest together , bond and mate together , " Zookeeper Job van Tol toldBBC News . " But , as two males , the one thing they could not do was lay an testicle . "
" It was a bit of risk of infection as we had no guarantees of success , but we thought , last , this is their chance . "
queerness in birds is actually relatively common . At least130 bird specieshave been cover to engage in homosexual behaviour , whether that ’s sex , courting , tenderness , pair soldering , or parenting . Nearly a third of all recollective - term duo in Laysan albatross ( Phoebastria immutabilis ) are female - female and over a one-fifth of graylag geese ( Anser genus Anser ) pairs are male - male person .
" As in some penguin coinage , vultures do everything the same , they alternate all the jobs . Females lay the eggs , but they cover together , they scrounge for food together . Male are program to have that duty of care , " said Mr Van Tol .
The zoo also had other vulture egg news show this week , with the hatching of another vulture bollock , whose parents were rescued from a road fortuity in Spain .
Since this vulture coinage tends to only lay one testis a year , this is great news for the preservation of the metal money . The menagerie is part of a European breeding program for griffon vultures , so they are keen to investigate whether it is feasible for them to return these two dame to the wild .
The wire-haired pointing griffon vulture is a large bird of prey , aboriginal to fragmented craggy regions across southerly Europe , North Africa , and Asia . Although some populations in North Africa and Turkey are in decline due to overhunting , the specie as a whole is in reality growing in phone number . Just like other vultures , this species is a pack rat , so it chiefly eats the dead carcasses of animals , such as rabbits , rats , and passably much any other essence it spots .
Congratulations to the fresh fathers !
