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Misgendered penguin given new name after eight years

BBC Five penguins in their enclosure at Birdland on a sunny day. The floor and wall behind are made out of stone and it is sunny. A small penguin is preening itself while four king penguins walk about. The legs of a keeper can be seen behind them.BBC
Suspicions grew after "Maggie's" unexpected behaviour with a fellow male king penguin

A penguin has been given a new name after being misgendered for eight years.

Birdland Park and Gardens, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, confirmed that king penguin "Maggie",10, has been renamed Magnus after engaging in unexpected behaviour with a fellow male king penguin.

Keepers observed "Maggie" making the first move with Frank, "so suspicions grew," a park spokesperson said.

Birdland sent one of Magnus' feathers off for DNA testing, which confirmed he was male.

Magnus arrived at Birdland in 2016 from Denmark, as part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria ex-situ programme (EAZA EEP), and caught Frank's attention after settling in "well".

The Cotswolds attraction is home to England's only collection of king penguins, which is the second largest species of penguins in the world, after the emperor penguin.

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