Grape-kun

Grape (16 April 1996 – 12 October 2017), colloquially known as Grape-kun (グレープ君, Gurēpu-kun), was a Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) at Tobu Zoo in Miyashiro, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. His attachment to a cutout of Hululu, an anthropomorphic Humboldt penguin character from the 2017 anime series Kemono Friends, earned him international fame and an online fan base. Grape-kun died after a brief illness in October 2017, and was commemorated by the zoo and his fans.

Early life

Grape was born at Hamura Zoo in Tokyo in 1996. He was named because of the color of the purple ring placed on his wing for identification; the suffix -kun is a Japanese honorific usually used when speaking to younger males. It is also commonly used for male pets. Along with his mate, Midori, he was transferred to Tobu Zoo in Miyashiro, Saitama, in March 2006. Midori and Grape-kun hatched a chick together, but the zoo removed the baby, citing inbreeding as the reason to separate it from its parents. The experience was difficult for the pair, and could have affected the bond between Grape-kun and Midori. Whether the loss of their chick was a factor or not, Midori left Grape-kun for a younger penguin after a decade of being together. After this occurred, all of the other penguins in Grape-kun's exhibit rejected him, and he spent most of his time isolated from the rest of the colony.