Penelope escapes the Bronx Zoo, sparking frantic searches and sensationalist news headlines. Once the staff accepts her likely death, Cecil is said to have died from a broken heart.
Platypuses Mark 10th Year at Zoo; 2 Survivors Still a Mystery to Most and as Nervous as Day They Arrived The New York Times
April 30, 1957Bronx Zoo Platypus Is Gone. Deserting Her Unloved Mate
New York Herald Tribune
August 6, 1957 Platypus Flees Ardent Zoo Mate; Penelope Is Missing in Bronx After Cecil Forces Way Into Her Hideaway Nearby Waters Searched The New York Times
August 6, 1957 Whoever Heard of a Platonic Platypus Newsday
August 6, 1957 ZOO MAY REPLACE MISSING PLAYTPUS; Hopes for Penelope Fading After 10 Days--Searchers Set Out Crayfish Lures The New York Times
August 9, 1957 Shy girl platypus gives mate the air The Leader Post
August 6, 1957 No Lover Boy For Penelope The Sun August 6, 1957 HAS ANYONE SEEN PENELOPE?
Newsreels from the UCLA Film & Television Archive
August 9, 1957
Link to VideoSaga Of Pretty Platypus Likened To Human Life The Hartford Courant
August 12, 1957 Penelope Takes It On the Lam The Hartford Courant
August 13, 1957 BRONX ZOO GETS PLATYPUS OFFER; Sydney Would Send One to Replace Missing Penelope, but Director Seeks Pair A Show of Affection
The New York Times
August 17, 1957 PLATYPUS AID OFFERED; Australian Is Ready to Try to Replace Lost Penelope
The New York Times
August 19, 1957 Platypus Penelope Presumed Perished The Evening Sun
September 18, 1957 End of the Affair Time Magazine
August 19, 1957 ZOO MOURNS PENELOPE; Platypus Who Fled Ardent Mate 'Probably Dead' The New York Times
September 18, 1957 Here Lies a Platypus Who Loved in Vain Newsday
September 20, 1957 Cecil, Bronx Zoo’s Platypus, Expires; Heartbreak Over Penelope Suspected The Florida Times
September 20, 1957 Broken Heart Kills Cecil Whose Platypus Mate Fled The Hartford Courant
September 20, 1957Platypus Dies of Age and Grief Over Loss of His Platonic Mate; In Poor Health All Summer The New York Times
September 20, 1957 Exit the Platypus The Boston Globe
September 21, 1957 Jilted Platypus Dies From Broken Heart News Journal
September 21, 1957 Zoo Officials Give Up Hunt For Platypus Anaheim Bulletin
September 24, 1957 Penelope Platypus Strays; Publicity Stunt Hinted Valley Times
October 2, 1957 Good News for Platypus Lovers The Age
March 13, 1958 Cecil Dies, Penny Flees The Philadelphia Inquirer
June 6, 1958 3 Platypus To Replace Escapee The Tampa Tribune
June 8, 1958 Hail, Platypuses Newsday
June 13, 1958 PLATYPUSES BOW; DON'T GIVE A SNAP; Duckbills Stow Customary Temperament in a Regal Debut at Bronx Zoo The New York Times
June 4, 1958 Patty the Platypus Dead; 2 Others at Zoo Survive New York Herald Tribune
November 12, 1958Duck-Billed Platypus Breaks Nature’s Rules The Tampa Tribune
November 28, 1958 An Era Ends at the Zoo: Last of Platypuses Dies New York Herald Tribune
March 26, 1959End of a Platypus Era
Newsday
March 28, 1959Only Male Platypus Has Poison Gland Waterloo Region Record
May 13, 1959
Publicist Penelope Popularizes Platypus Tuscon Citizen
August 30, 1957