Sphen, Same Sex Couple Member Icon, Passes Away

Sphen, Magic and their daughter Lara
A Sea Life Sydney Aquarium image

From Sydney Australia comes sad news of the passing of Sphen, a male gentoo penguin.

So significant an international figure was Sphen that he was accorded with an extended obituary in the New York Times.

Sea Life Sydney Aquarium residents Sphen and his male life partner Magic burst onto the international scene six years ago when Australia was in the midst of moving to the acceptance of same sex marriage for Australian humans.

Such same animal sex couples have long been known to zookeepers, animal behaviorists and various others, however, such relationships but were also long kept, well, quiet.

Until Sphen and Magic as well as a few other zoo residents elsewhere in recent years, that is.

Key was that Sphen and Magic were especially devoted to each other even by the well-known lifelong monogamy of penguin couples. 

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Sphen and Magic sharing nesting duty
 A Sea Life Sydney Aquarium image

Magic and Sphen kept the neatest nest of their penguin colony as well as twice adopted eggs over the years.  Sphen and Magic shared in the brooding of the eggs until they hatched as well as then cared for their first nestling Lara and then their son Clancy until both left the nest.

Needless to say, many a parent has relied on Magic and Sphen to help explain to their own children how some are different but at the same time still the same as others.

Especially touching was how Magic and the rest of the gentoo penguin colony reacted to Sphen’s passing.

Crying out in song
 A Sea Life Sydney Aquarium image

In the wild when a penguin dies and its partner does not know what has happened, the surviving mate typically goes searching for its mate to an often bitter end.  As such, zookeepers felt it so necessary to show Magic that Sphen had passed so that Magic could understand “his partner wouldn’t actually be returning.”

In turn, an incredibly emotional moment then came to pass when Magic all but immediately started singing of his loss with all the penguins around him then joining in chorus to honor Sphen.

Sphen is survived by his live partner Magic, daughter Lara, son Clancy, his penguin colony, and innumerable fans of all sorts worldwide.

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