Charlie, Georgia Aquarium's oldest African penguin, dead at 40: "Ever so grateful"

The Georgia Aquarium has said goodbye to its oldest African penguin.

Charlie the penguin died at the age of 40. At that age, he was one of the oldest African penguins ever in human care, the aquarium said.

"Charlie living well over the average life expectancy of African penguins, 10 - 20 years, is a testament to the dedication and exceptional care he received from our animal and veterinarian teams," the aquarium wrote on Facebook.

The aquarium said Charlie had natural issues to his age, when led to them making the decision to euthanize him.

Charlie hatched at the Maryland Zoo in 1986 and lived at the Georgia Aquarium for decades. For over 30 years, he was in a bonded pair with Lizzy, who died last year. The pair has acted a foster parents to many chicks at the aquarium during their decades together. In the last few years, Charlie has lived in the aquarium's behind-the-scenes are due to his age.

"We are ever so grateful to have cared for Charlie, and our hearts are with all who cared for him or had the opportunity to meet him in an encounter," the aquarium wrote.

African penguins are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to food shortages and overfishing of their habitats. The agency estimates that there are less than 20,000 mature African penguins across the world today.