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Gay penguin Sphen dies at Australia aquarium, leaving behind partner Magic — and an iconic legacy
Sphen, one-half of the world’s most famous gay penguin couple, has died, staff at Australia’s Sea Life Sydney Aquarium said Thursday in a news release. He left behind his long-term partner Magic — and an iconic legacy.
Aquarium staff said the duo’s love story appeared in books, documentaries, an education syllabus and even inspired a Mardi Gras float. The aquarium said it was able to use Sphen and Magic’s story to teach lessons about conservation, plastic pollution and global warming.
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The same-sex gentoo penguin couple shot to global fame in 2018 when news of their pairing made headlines. Dubbed “Sphengic” and “Sydney’s hottest couple,” the two penguins became close during that year’s breeding season and started collecting pebbles to create a nest.
Encouraged by their bond and loyalty, aquarium staff gave the duo a “dummy egg” to nurture and then eventually a real egg from another penguin couple who had two. The pair protected the egg, swapping roles between incubating the nest and guarding its perimeter. The egg hatched, revealing the pair’s first adopted penguin baby, “Sphengic,” named after its dads’ celebrity moniker. Two years later, in 2020, the couple became proud parents for the second time with the birth of Clancy,
Sphen was nearly 12 years old when he died, said the aquarium.
After hearing news of Sphen’s death, well-wisher comments flooded Sea Life’s website. One writer said, “You were just being a penguin, but to us all, your love was so brave and so beautiful.”
Another wrote, “Thank you Sphen and Magic for showing the world that love naturally comes in many forms. Our hearts ache for Magic.”
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A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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