Australian penguin Sphen, one half of famed same-sex couple, dies at 11 years old

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Sphen, the elder partner in a world famous same-sex penguin couple celebrated in Australian schoolbooks and an annual gay rights parade, has died at 11 years old, a Sydney aquarium said on Thursday.

Sphen and his male gentoo penguin partner Magic, now aged 8, came to international attention in 2018 when they built a pebble nest together in the hope of raising chicks at their home in the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium.

International interest grew as they adopted and successfully raised two chicks in 2018 and 2020. Their union was celebrated by a float in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, included in the Sydney-based New South Wales state education curriculum and discussed in the Netflix series “Atypical.” Their relationship has also been recorded in books and film documentaries.

Penguin mates share their parenting duties and same-sex couples in captivity have occasionally adopted eggs before.