‘Female’ penguin is renamed after being misgendered for almost a decade

After Maggie the king penguin was brought in to help boost numbers at a Cotswolds wildlife park, keepers were left puzzled by the lack of success.

Now, eight years on, they have made the key – and slightly embarrassing – discovery… that Maggie is actually Magnus.

DNA results revealed the bird, kept at Birdland Park and Gardens, in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, was in fact male – and renamed him.

The ten-year-old penguin, bred in Denmark, arrived in the UK in 2016 as part of a conservation programme involving England’s only breeding colony of king penguins.

The park said the news ‘does mean a reshuffle in Birdland’s breeding plans’.

Birdland is now awaiting the arrival of a young female king penguin from Germany to ensure the long-term success of the colony.

Eight years Maggie the penguin arrived a Cotswolds wildlife park to help boost numbers zookeepers have discovered that Maggie is actually Magnus

DNA results revealed the bird, kept at Birdland Park and Gardens, in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, was in fact male – and renamed him