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Penguin who fell in love with a cardboard cut-out of a cartoon character dies with his beloved 'girl
Penguin who fell in love with a cardboard cut-out of a cartoon character dies with his beloved 'girlfriend' by his side: Zoo places poorly bird with object of his affection as he passes away
Grape-kun fell in love with a carboard cutout placed in his pen for ad campaign
The 20-year-old penguin became devastated when staff tried to remove it
Staff at Tobu Zoo in Miyashiro, Japan has revealed Grape-kun died Thursday
In a tweet they revealed that anime cutout had been with him 'until the end'
By Sara Malm for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 10:37 BST, 13 October 2017 | UPDATED: 12:13 BST, 13 October 2017
An elderly penguin who became a local celebrity in Japan after falling in love with a cardboard cutout of a cartoon character has passed away - with his paper partner by his side.
Grape-kun became enamored with the cutout of an anime character in a penguin dress after it was placed in his enclosure at Tobu Zoo, in Miyashiro, during an advertisement campaign in April.
Today, zoo staff reported that 20-year-old Grape had passed away after a short period of illness, but that the cardboard had been with him 'until the very end'.
After losing his partner of ten years, Grape-kun's luck changed after a cardboard cut-out of a character from the hit anime series Kemono Friends was installed in the penguin enclosure
The tale of the penguin who loved a cardboard cut-out saw Grape gain millions of fans all over the world as the story hit the news.
The unlikely romance began after Grape was 'dumped' by a female called Midori with whom he was coupled with for ten years.
Zoo staff was concerned for Grape after the end of his relationship with Midori, who left him for a younger penguin.
He began spending less time with other penguins, and more time wandering alone, according to staff.
However, his luck changed after a cardboard cut-out of a character from the hit anime series Kemono Friends was installed in the penguin enclosure.
Heartbreaking: When staff were forced to remove Hululu ahead of a typhoon, Grape-kun was pictured slumped in despair
Grape's true feelings were all but confirmed when he was observed standing before the cut-out with his wings outstretched and his beak pointed up - a penguin courtship ritual
The character, Hululu, is a petite girl wearing a short dress with a penguin-like pattern and headphones.
It was not long before zookeepers began noticing that Grape was spending more and more time staring at the cut-out, much to the amusement of zoo visitors.
Grape's true feelings were all but confirmed when he was observed standing before the cut-out with his wings outstretched and his beak pointed up.
The stance is a courtship ritual in the penguin world, and an indicator that Grape could be ready to take his relationship to the next level.
Shortly afterwards, zoo staff were forced to remove Hululu during a typhoon - for fears she would blow away - and the penguin became so visibly heartbroken she was soon returned to him.
Earlier this week, the zoo posted on social media that Grape had fallen ill and would not be appearing in his enclosure.
On Friday, the staff tweeted: 'The Humboldt penguin Grape-kun passed away yesterday. Sincere thanks to everyone for supporting him until now.
'Thank you also to Hululu, who watched over him until the very end. And thank you, Grape-kun, for all this time. Rest peacefully in heaven.'
Grape-kun was a Humboldt penguin, and their average life-span in captivity is around 20 years.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz4vOEhcHOT
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