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Two gay penguins at a Danish zoo "kidnapped" a chick from its straight parents after they neglected it, according to a zookeeper.

The couple were brooding and wanted a child of their own. They saw the chick had been left alone and hid it out of sight from its parents, the zookeeper from Odense Zoo claimed.

Keeper Sandie Hedgegard Munck said the gay penguin couple wanted to be parents and "thought the chick’s mom and dad were being neglectful."

The gay couple are seen hiding around a corner form the chick's real parents as they look for it. They are seen to huddle around it, hiding the baby between their feet.

"The parents disappeared, and the kid was simply kidnapped," Ms Munck said.

"I know that the female is very caring for the kid, and she is also very aggressive to us animal lovers if we get too close to the chick," Ms Munck explained.

"I think the female had been out to get her bath, and then it had been the male's turn to care for the kid. He may have then left, and then the couple had thought, "It's a pity, we'll take it.'"

The zoo said there were going to let the gay penguins adopt the baby if the parents did not come back looking for it, but when its real parents realised it was missing the following day, they eventually confronted the gay couple.

Zookeepers intervened and returned the chick to its biological parents.

The story captured people's attention around the world - and some were reminded of the series Parks and Recreation, when civil servant Leslie Knope gives a wedding reception to two gay penguins - and then kidnaps them so they can be together in the face of hostile prejudice.

Head keeper Nina Christensen told the Standard: "The keepers could hear them calling the chick and the chicks have a special sound for their parents, so it was worried, and it was calling to them."

After the situation was resolved, the gay couple were later allowed to adopt an egg of their own.

"Penguins steal eggs from one another because their nature is telling them they need to care for their young, and this time it was a chick they took.

"But we gave them an egg from a single mother, because it's better for two to incubate together."

"The other mother would understand," she added.

"They are perfect now, and looking after their egg, and the single mum is fine too."

Penguins go through reproductive cycles each year, and not necessarily with the same mate - but their instincts for parenting are incredibly strong, Ms Christensen added.

Male penguins engage in mating rituals when they couple up with each other, including entwining their necks and sharing mating calls.

"We call this couple homosexuals, and that's because they have paired up together this year," Ms Christensen said.

"Next year they may pair up with different penguins so they won't necessarily be gay and may go on to have children of their own."