Sphen, the famous gentoo penguin who became a global symbol of equality and inspiration, has died of natural causes just days before his 12th birthday, with his partner Magic mourning his loss in song.
The two penguins made headlines in 2018 when they fell in love at the Sea Life aquarium in Sydney, Australia, and later adopted and raised two baby penguins, Lara and Clancy.
Their love is “one in a million”.
“The couple’s impact around the world as a symbol of equality has been immeasurable,” said Penguins manager Renee Howell, who has lived their love story from the beginning.
“It’s one in a million. You really will never see this again,” he said.
In 2018, staff noticed an attraction between them when they saw them bowing to each other, a courtship pattern among gentoo penguins. Also during the breeding season they do something unique.
One half of world-famous gay penguin couple dies https://t.co/zYgW8aNDWf
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) August 22, 2024
“We see [τους πιγκουίνους] to search along the beach, along the ice, looking for the perfect pebbles to give to their mates. They then use them to build their nest and lay their eggs there,” he adds.
A very sweet farewell
In the wild, when a penguin dies, its mate goes to look for it. The manager stated that this is why the aquarium keepers felt it necessary to show Magic that Sfen had died, so that he would understand that he “wasn’t coming back again”.
“It was a very emotional moment, the place was filled with his song which was followed by the whole colony of penguins. It proved the impact he had [Σφεν] to his partner while o [Mάτζικ] he realized his partner was there. Soon after, he became protective of his partner and that was a very emotional moment for us… it was a very sweet goodbye,” he concluded.
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