LOVE-SICK:
This handout photo released yesterday by Tobu Zoo shows Humboldt penguin Grape (bottom right). Grape who shot to fame in Japan after falling in love with a cardboard cut-out of a cartoon character Hululu (top) has died, at the ripe old age of 21, around 80 in human years.
TOKYO: An elderly penguin who shot to fame in Japan after falling in love with a cardboard cut-out of a cartoon character has died, at the ripe old age of 21.
Officials at Tobu zoo in Saitama, north of Tokyo, said Grape passed away after a brief illness with the object of his desire right by his side. He would have been around 80 in human years.
Earlier this year, the Humboldt penguin became smitten with a cut-out of Hululu — a character from the Japanese anime “Kemono Friends” — after being dumped by his former mate, a female called Midori.
A love-sick Grape found solace in Hululu and would stare at her for hours on end.
The plight of the romantic penguin went viral, earning Grape millions of fans worldwide.
A steady stream of mourners has visited Tobu zoo’s penguin enclosure, many with flowers, since the tragic news broke on Friday, while officials erected a makeshift shrine to their fallen celebrity yesterday.
“Little Grape had a wife called Midori but she left him and found herself a new husband,” Tobu zoo’s penguin caretaker Eri Nemoto told local media.
“We put the cardboard panel next to him to comfort him to the very end.” — AFP