Thomas didn’t choose whom to fall in love with; he simply loved. 🦢
For 18 years in a lagoon in New Zealand, this goose lived alongside Henrietta, a black swan whom he cared for with fierce devotion. They were never apart. Until one day Henrietta laid an egg, and Thomas discovered that his lifelong companion was actually a male, whom they renamed Henry. The blow was hard at first, but the love between them did not break: it transformed.
When Henry’s eggs with another mate began to hatch, Thomas became the most devoted uncle imaginable. He helped raise 68 chicks over the years and taught them, one by one, to fly. Later he also had 10 children of his own with another bird, although they ultimately ended up in the care of another goose. He spent his old age, nearly blind by then, in a bird rehabilitation sanctuary, surrounded by the affection he himself had given throughout his life, and passed away at 40. 🕊️
