Meet the first gender neutral penguin at aquarium Sea Life London.
Staff have decided not to describe the Gentoo penguin as male or female because they say gender is more of a human construct.
Expert Aquarists say it would be normal for it to grow up as genderless in the wild as male and female penguins look almost the same until they mature and reach adulthood.
The four-month-old chick is yet to be named and will be identified with its own purple band.
The chick has been adopted by a same-sex penguin couple Rocky and Marama at the aquarium after they showed they were ready to look after an egg of their own.
The egg was one of two born to the birth mother and staff thought it as better to move the egg to relieve her of the pressure of raising two chicks.
The chick is doing well and has already fledged its nest and moulted its baby feathers to become another penguin in the colony.
Graham McGrath, General Manager at Sea Life London, said: ‘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.
‘What makes us really proud at the aquarium is the success of Sea Life London’s Gentoo breeding programme and the amazing job of same sex penguins Rocky and Marama who took the chick under their wing and raised it as their own.’
The chick was born as part of the conversation programme at the aquarium on London’s South Bank. Gentoo penguins have near-threatened status in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the programme aims to help the species.
As the adopted chick matures it may become part of this breeding program depending on the gender its biology determines.
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