It was a dark day in Sydney. On Wednesday, the Sea Life Aquarium announced the death of Sphen, aged 11.¹ The gentoo penguinA penguin species with a prominent tail. 's health had deteriorated for reasons unknown. Aquarium staff took the difficult decision to euthaniseTo humanely and painlessly kill an animal to end its suffering. him to end his suffering.

Sphen is survived by his partner Magic. When zookeepers brought eight-year-old Magic to see Sphen's body, the younger penguin began singing a sorrowful song. The whole penguin colony soon joined in mourning their lost friend.

Aquarium manager Richard Dilly said: "We want to take this opportunity to reflect and celebrate Sphen's life, remembering what an icon he was, the unique bond he shared with Magic and the positive impact he made in the world."

Sphen and Magic became global stars in 2018, after news emerged of their same-sex romance. They quickly became powerful symbols of equality.²

They hit the news again for adopting and raising a pair of chicks, Sphengic and Clancy. While the other penguins in the colony were often distracted from their children, Sphen and Magic were remarkable for their care. They built the biggest nest and constantly kept it warm.  And they stayed together after mating season, when other penguins split up.

Their fame grew to the point that they featured in an Australian school syllabusThe subjects or topics in an academic course - e.g. A-level Geography. and Netflix comedy-drama Atypical. They have starred in books. In 2021 they even inspired a Mardi GrasFrench for "Fat Tuesday", for eating up richer, fatty foods. In English known as Shrove Tuesday, preceding Ash Wednesday (see below). float.

Timing played a role in their rise to the top. For a decade beforehand, Australian politics were gripped by a bitter debate over same-sex marriage for humans. Same-sex marriage was finally legalised in December 2017.³

Sphen and Magic's peaceful coexistence offered a lesson to squabbling humans. It also sent a strong rebuke to homophobiaPrejudice or discrimination due to a person's sexuality. . For centuries, people in same-sex relationships have been discriminated against. Homophobes often criticised them as "unnatural".

But here was a sign that LGBTStands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. The initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.+ relationships occurred in nature - and that they could parent a child. Aquarium supervisor Tish Hannah said: "Penguins are born with the ability to raise chicks from start to finish whether they're male or female. We're the same."

Penguins are not the only non-human animals that have same-sex relationships. Bottlenose dolphins and bonobos show bisexualSexually or romantically attracted to both men and women. behaviour. Giraffes exhibit more same-sex than opposite-sex activity. Female macaquesA type of monkey found in Asia, North Africa and Gibraltar. form long-term partnerships.

Vanessa LoBue writes: "Recent research has reported evidence of sexual behaviour among same-sex pairs in more than 1,500 species, including bulls, sheep, elephants, monkeys, apes, and birds." 

Gay rights advocates say we can learn from this. If homosexuality is natural, then it deserves to be protected.⁴ It is no less normal than a heterosexual relationship. Indeed some, such as ecologistA person who studies the relationship between the air, land, water and animals. Julia Monk, suggest that mixed gender relationships might not be the "primordialExisting at or from the beginning of time. default" and have evolved over time to aid survival.

Others think we should not make claims about humans based on the behaviour of other animals. Animals could form relationships for different reasons than humans. They do all sorts of things that we do not. Sea snails are all born male; some become female during mating. And clownfish can even change their gender.

We should be wary of modelling our behaviour on other animals. That something happens in nature does not make it morally good. Cats toy with their prey. Species from seals to chimps regularly engage in violent fights. Baboons attack and kill their own infants.⁵ A person imitating these behaviours would be a violent criminal.

Is there a lesson for humans?

Yes: From Sphen and Magic to bottlenose dolphins, the animal kingdom abounds with same-sex relationships. From this it is clear that same-sex relationships are perfectly natural - and deserve to be respected and accepted.

No: We cannot cherry-pick those aspects of animal behaviour we identify with. Animals form all sorts of bonds that hardly resemble those preferred by humans. Gorilla males, for instance, often have numerous female partners.

Or... The story of Sphen and Magic is heartwarming. But it is depressing that we live in a world riven by so much anger, division, discrimination and prejudice that we look to penguins for a harmonious relationship.

FOR YOUR SUMMER READING CHALLENGE CLUE GO TO STEP SIX IN THE SIX STEPS TO DISCOVERY BELOW.