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

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

“Sphen and Magic had a bond that was unlike most other penguin pairs,” 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 gave Magic the opportunity to see Sphen’s body, supposedly to give him a chance to grieve and also increase the chances of him being able to move on.

When Magic saw Sphen’s body and realized he had lost his partner, “he immediately started singing. And several others in the colony responded to him,” said Renee Howell, the aquarium’s penguin keeper, in an interview with Australian broadcaster ABC.

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

Sphen died at just under 12 years of age; the average life expectancy of a gentoo penguin is about 12 to 13 years.

A courtship sparked international fame

In 2018, aquarium staff noticed that Sphen and Magic were forming a strong bond, ranging from bowing to each other to offering them a pebble – a gesture that was akin to a marriage proposal. When they built a nest of pebbles together, they were given a fake egg to see how they would handle it. When they showed natural instincts to take care of it, staff gave the males a real egg from a neighboring pair that had two. They immediately began incubating it.

Same-sex pairings are not uncommon among penguins, Howell said. “However, when it comes to task sharing, Sphen and Magic really stood out. They are incredibly successful at sharing their tasks, and that’s why they were able to successfully raise chicks.”

The two males managed to raise a chick named Sphengic, also known as Lara; in 2020, they repeated this feat and raised a chick named Clancy.

Other same-sex penguins have demonstrated similar abilities, including a pair at a zoo in Syracuse, NY, in 2022. Two other male penguin pairs have also reached the six-year mark: Chinstrap penguins Silo and Roy at the Central Park Zoo in New York City; and Harry and Pepper, two male Magellanic penguins who have taken up residence at the San Francisco Zoo.

As for Magic, his behavior seems to be relatively normal since his loss. The aquarium said on Facebook that as the new breeding season begins, “we are observing all the behaviors we would expect from Magic, namely nest building, feeding, and participating in training.”

Copyright: NPR