SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium
Sphen the gentoo penguin — one half of a world-famous gay penguin couple — has died at 11 of natural causes.
Sphen and his 8-year-old partner Magic, who hail from Sydney’s Sea Life Aquarium first gained international attention in 2018, after news of their relationship made headlines. The pair recently celebrated their six-year anniversary, which is roughly half a gentoo penguin’s average lifespan.
According to a Sea Life blog post, they “shared a bond unlike most other penguin couples” and could be found together even outside of breeding season, “which is unique for gentoo penguins.” Sphen and Magic raised two chicks together: Six-year-old Lara and four-year-old Clancy. Gay penguin parenting is nothing new — similar queer families have been seen in zoos across the world.
Over the years, the two have been celebrated all over the world. Inflatables in the pair’s image of the couple were featured at Sydney’s 2021 Pride parade, per NBC News. They went on to appear in an episode of the Netflix show Atypical. Last year, Sphen and Magic were included in a K-2 syllabus in the Australian state of New South Wales in order to help young students learn about “love in all shapes and sizes.” Fittingly, Sea Life’s general manager Richard Dilly described Sphen as an “icon.”
In order to help Magic process Sphen’s death, staff took him to see Sphen alongside the rest of the aquarium’s penguin colony so that he could understand why his partner was absent.
Sea Life penguin keeper Renee Howell told The Guardian that, upon seeing Sphen, Magic began to sing, before his fellow penguins joined him in song.
“It was a very beautiful moment, the air was just filled with their singing,” Howell said. “It showed the impact [Sphen] had on his partner and that [Magic] actually recognized that his partner was there. Soon after, he became quite protective of his partner, and that was a very emotional time for us, but we needed to do that in order for him to hopefully comprehend what had happened.”
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Sea Life’s in memoriam post features a submission box allowing Sphen’s fans to leave tribute messages to the late penguin. Since news of his passing was announced earlier today, messages have flooded in.
“”Vale Sphen,” one person wrote. “You and your partner Magic showed the world that same-sex love is indeed natural and that same-sex partners make brilliant parents. You will be missed.”
“You were just a penguin, but to us all, your love was so brave and so beautiful,” another commenter said. “Thank you for letting us celebrate you, and now we mourn you. Rest in sweet peace, Sphen.”
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Originally Appeared on them.
Source Agencies
