The world’s oldest African penguin has died at the Richmond Metro Zoo, the zoo announced Thursday.
“The Metro Richmond Zoo is saddened to report the passing of ET, an African penguin. She died peacefully on Saturday, June 17 from natural causes,” the zoo said in a news release.
The zoo says ET acted normally during her morning feeding on June 17, but didn’t come over when called by a caretaker in the evening, which the zoo described as “highly unusual.”
The zoo moved ET to the temporary vet clinic, where it became apparent she was dying.
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“Like most elderly penguins, ET developed arthritis, for which she received medication, and she had impaired vision in one eye,” the zoo said in a news release. “ET’s quality of life was strong until the very end.”
The zoo said ET spent her final moments in the arms of one of her zookeepers, Jessica Gring, who “felt her take one last breath and then pass away.”
ET was 43 years, 4 months and 20 days old, according to the zoo, which notes the average lifespan of African penguins is 15 to 20 years.
She hatched at the Detroit Zoo in January 1980 and later moved to the Columbus Zoo in 1982, the same year the movie “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” came out in theaters.
Her journey brought her to Richmond in 1995 as an original member of Richmond Metro Zoo’s penguin colony, where she became known for her “saucy personality.”
According to the zoo, ET had three mates during her life and outlived two of them. Her current mate, Einstein, rejoined the colony on Sunday.
The zoo says ET laid 45 eggs during her time there, including one daughter who lived to be 37 years old.
