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Animals
Bill Chappell, NPR

Sphen, partner in a same-sex penguin couple, dies — and a colony sings

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"Sphen and Magic shared a bond unlike most other penguin couples," the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium said. Sphen has died, after the male pair spent around six years together, building nests and raising chicks.
"Sphen and Magic shared a bond unlike most other penguin couples," the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium said. Sphen has died, after the male pair spent about six years together, building nests and raising chicks.
Sea Life Sydney Aquarium

He was an affectionate and kind partner, and then a patient and caring parent. When Sphen captured the heart of Magic, a fellow penguin at an aquarium in Sydney, he also won the hearts of fans around the world.

But sadly, Sphen has died, Sea Life Sydney Aquarium announced on Thursday. The news comes six years after Sphen and Magic, two males, amazed aquarium staff with their romance and deep commitment.

“Sphen and Magic shared a bond unlike most other penguin couples,” the aquarium said. “They could even be found together outside of the breeding season, which is unique for gentoo penguins.”

A song for the dead

The aquarium provided Magic with a chance to see Sphen’s body, saying it wanted to give him an opportunity to mourn and also improve the likelihood that he would be able to move on.

When Magic saw Sphen’s body and realized his partner was lost to him, “he immediately started singing. And this was reciprocated by several others in the colony,” Renee Howell, the aquariums’ penguin keeper, said in an interview with Australia’s ABC.

“We’re not entirely sure exactly what was being said in these moments of singing, but it was definitely a beautiful moment to witness,” she added.

Sphen died just short of 12 years old; the average lifespan for a gentoo penguin is roughly 12 to 13 years.

A courtship sparked international fame

In 2018, aquarium staff noticed a strong bond growing between Sphen and Magic, from bowing to each other to offers of a pebble — an act akin to offering a proposal. As they built a nest of pebbles together, they were given a dummy egg, to see how they would treat it. When they showed natural instincts to nurture it, workers gave the males a real egg from a neighboring couple that had two. They immediately began incubating it.

Same-sex couples aren’t unusual among penguins, Howell said. “However, the division of the jobs is where Sphen and Magic really stood out. They are incredibly successful in the way they shared their jobs, and that is why they were able to successfully foster and raise chicks.”

The two males successfully raised a chick named Sphengic, also known as Lara; they repeated the feat in 2020, fostering a chick named Clancy.

Other same-sex penguins have shown similar capacities, including a pair at a zoo in Syracuse, N.Y., in 2022. Two other male penguin couples also hit the six-year mark together: chinstrap penguins Silo and Roy at New York City’s Central Park Zoo; and Harry and Pepper, two male Magellanic penguins who set up house at the San Francisco Zoo.

As for Magic, his behavior has seemed relatively normal since his loss. The aquarium said via Facebook that with a new breeding season beginning, “we are seeing all the behaviours we would expect from Magic, which is nest building, feeding and participating in training.”

Copyright 2024, NPR