Today, the world watched and listened in awe as a heartrending song filled the air: A widowed penguin named Magic and his fellow gentoo penguins joined together in a mourning cry over the loss of the beloved gay icon Sphen.

A Flightless Bird Gains Wings

Sphen the penguin, whose same-sex love story with Magic captivated hearts around the world, apparently died of natural causes just before his 12th birthday.

Sphen and Magic’s courtship started with an exchange of pebbles—a gesture unique to gentoo penguins. As their relationship bloomed, the couple garnered a dedicated fan base. After their six-year anniversary, the partners raised two chicks together, dividing up parenting duties evenly.

Grieving penguins often go searching for their missing partners when they don’t know what has happened to them, and some penguin colonies perform burial ceremonies for their deceased loved ones. Magic’s rallying song is another testament to other animals’ capacity for profound love and sorrow.

All Animals Deserve to Be Seen

Like all animals, Sphen was an individual who felt joy, pain, sadness, and great love.

Ingrid Newkirk’s book Animalkind highlights stories like Sphen’s, delving deep into the complex lives of our fellow animals. From geese who have life partners to fish who “sing” underwater, every animal is someone.

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