November 9, 2011--Buddy & Pedro
Back in October 2005 I wrote here about Silo & Roy, two male penguins in Manhattan's Central Park Zoo who appeared to be in love but were being encouraged to "break up" by their keepers.
Penguins had been in the news because of a successful documentary film, March of the Penguins, which was required viewing for fundamentalists and other conservatives who saw the penguins portrayed there as evidence that our Intelligent Designer (whomever she is) created an animal kingdom in which even penguins are compassionate, monogamous, and, most important, heterosexual.
But then, inconveniently, there were Silo and Roy who appeared to offer evidence that Nature does not abhor gayness. Thus, perhaps yielding to political pressure, zoo authorities pressed Silo to take up with Scrappy, a hotty from Sea World in California.
The blogs and right wing talk shows were aflutter at this news. Radio host James C. Dobson gloated, “For those who have pointed to Roy and Silo as models for us all [emphasis added], those developments must be disappointing. Some gay activists might actually be angry.”
Well, some were and some weren’t, claiming, among other things that observing penguins in captivity was not a way to answer the question—is sexual orientation genetic or a "lifestyle" choice. Especially not in New York City, which is, well, you know.
At the time I thought there was a larger issue than just science. A humane one. Silo did OK. But Roy? Not so good. Zookeepers reported being concerned about him. After Silo was sent off to take up with Scrappy they observed Roy all alone, in a corner of the penguin house, seemingly depressed, staring at the wall.
So you would think that anyone who cares about animals as cute as penguins would not again go down that road.
Sadly, I am now hearing that officials at the Toronto Zoo are splitting up two apparently gay penguins. This time, they say, out of concern for the survival of African penguins. Zookeepers in Toronto claim they are separating the besotted gay penguins so they can be placed in a breeding program.
Staff say that Buddy and Pedro, the two penguins, are nearly inseparable and have shown signs of mating behavior. With each other.
They often mimic the way male and female penguins fool around. For instance, keepers note that every night the pair slip away to sleep together and . . . No need to go into further details.
African penguins are endangered. Therefore, in a effort to help boost their number, Buddy and Pedro, who have nearly perfect genes, are going to be split up so they can be induced to mate with female penguins.
I'm good with doing what we can to help endangered species. But still I worry about Buddy and Pedro. I want to know--are they happy?
Penguins had been in the news because of a successful documentary film, March of the Penguins, which was required viewing for fundamentalists and other conservatives who saw the penguins portrayed there as evidence that our Intelligent Designer (whomever she is) created an animal kingdom in which even penguins are compassionate, monogamous, and, most important, heterosexual.
But then, inconveniently, there were Silo and Roy who appeared to offer evidence that Nature does not abhor gayness. Thus, perhaps yielding to political pressure, zoo authorities pressed Silo to take up with Scrappy, a hotty from Sea World in California.
The blogs and right wing talk shows were aflutter at this news. Radio host James C. Dobson gloated, “For those who have pointed to Roy and Silo as models for us all [emphasis added], those developments must be disappointing. Some gay activists might actually be angry.”
Well, some were and some weren’t, claiming, among other things that observing penguins in captivity was not a way to answer the question—is sexual orientation genetic or a "lifestyle" choice. Especially not in New York City, which is, well, you know.
At the time I thought there was a larger issue than just science. A humane one. Silo did OK. But Roy? Not so good. Zookeepers reported being concerned about him. After Silo was sent off to take up with Scrappy they observed Roy all alone, in a corner of the penguin house, seemingly depressed, staring at the wall.
So you would think that anyone who cares about animals as cute as penguins would not again go down that road.
Sadly, I am now hearing that officials at the Toronto Zoo are splitting up two apparently gay penguins. This time, they say, out of concern for the survival of African penguins. Zookeepers in Toronto claim they are separating the besotted gay penguins so they can be placed in a breeding program.
Staff say that Buddy and Pedro, the two penguins, are nearly inseparable and have shown signs of mating behavior. With each other.
They often mimic the way male and female penguins fool around. For instance, keepers note that every night the pair slip away to sleep together and . . . No need to go into further details.
African penguins are endangered. Therefore, in a effort to help boost their number, Buddy and Pedro, who have nearly perfect genes, are going to be split up so they can be induced to mate with female penguins.
I'm good with doing what we can to help endangered species. But still I worry about Buddy and Pedro. I want to know--are they happy?
posted by Steven Zwerling at
4:39 AM
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