Aug 22
Gay Penguin Sphen, of Australian Aquarium 'Power Couple,' Dies at 11
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Gay gentoo penguin Sphen – part of the famous "power couple" that proved a major attraction at an Australian aquarium – has died of natural causes at the age of 11, leaving his mate, Magic, a widower, CNN reported.
Sea Life Sydney Aquarium announced the sad news on Aug. 22, writing in an Instagram post, "Sphen and Magic, our beloved 'penguin power couple,' made global headlines in 2018 for their beautiful same-sex relationship, inspiring millions around the world with their story of love, equality, and devotion."
"Sphen's legacy will live on through the love he shared with Magic and the important conservation messages they helped us spread," the aquarium's post added.
"Sphen not only helped in the championing of equality," CNN detailed. "Through the couple's fame, the aquarium was able to raise awareness and money for important causes including conservation, plastic pollution, climate change and the need to protect wild penguins," according to Sea Life.
"Sphen lived a full life for a gentoo penguin," CNN noted, "a species with an average life span of roughly 12 to 13 years."
"To help Magic, aged 8, process the tragic loss, aquarium staff took him to see Sphen 'so that he could understand why his partner wouldn't return,' the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium said in a statement," CNN said.
"The loss of Sphen is heartbreaking to the penguin colony, the team and everyone who has been inspired or positively impacted by Sphen and Magic's story," the article quoted Sea Life's general manager, Richard Dilly, as saying.
"We want to take this opportunity to reflect and celebrate Sphen's life, remembering what an icon he was," Dilly said. "The team's focus is now on Magic, who will soon prepare for his first breeding season without Sphen."
"He and Magic shared an inseparable bond," CNN noted of Sphen, relaying that "the two were often seen together outside of breeding season, a rarity for their species."
"The pair inspired a Mardi Gras float, featured in the Netflix series 'Atypical,'" CNN recalled, "and have been included in the education curriculum in New South Wales, their Australian home state."
"Countless books and movies also touch on their love story" according to Sea Life Aquarium, CNN added.
Workers at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium noticed the pair's remarkable bond when Sphen presented Magic with a "special stone" – the penguin equivalent of a proposal. The couple proceeded to build a nest of pebbles, just as other couples were doing.
When Sphen and Magic were provided with a "dummy egg" to care for, they took right to it. Impressed, the staff provided them with a real egg, which came from a couple that had two eggs to care for (penguin couples can typically only care for one chick at a time).
The couple hatched and then cared for a healthy female chick, and a year later they added to their family when they adopted another egg, eventually hatching a male chick.
The famous duo – known worldwide by their combined name, Sphengic – celebrated their third anniversary in 2022. Sea Life Sydney Aquarium posted a video of the occasion on Instagram. Kiera, a penguin keeper, narrated the clip, saying that the couple were "still one of our strongest couples" and updating viewers with news that Sphen and Magic had relocated their nest together.
"They're a great example for the rest of the colony," Kiera added, "inseparable and proving just how strong penguin bonds can be."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
