I found this stories about gay penguins very entertaining:
The story of Roy and Silo, the most popular gay couple in Centra park, NY. ( It's a very well written article about their relationsip and homosexual behaviour in animals )
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/07/MNG3N4RAV41.DTL
Sadly, They broke up... and Silo left Roy for a FEMALE PENGUIN!!! :lol :lol
and in Germany, in Bremen
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1275591.html
an the latest! Gay penguin couple in china PUNISHED for trying to steal an egg from straght couple!!
http://www.russiatoday.com/features/news/33951
It is sad, funny and weird all at the same time
The story of Roy and Silo, the most popular gay couple in Centra park, NY. ( It's a very well written article about their relationsip and homosexual behaviour in animals )
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/07/MNG3N4RAV41.DTL
(02-07) 04:00 PST New York -- Roy and Silo, two chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan, are completely devoted to each other. For nearly six years now, they have been inseparable. They exhibit what in penguin parlance is called "ecstatic behavior": That is, they entwine their necks, they vocalize to each other, they have sex. Silo and Roy are, to anthropomorphize a bit, gay penguins.
When offered female companionship, they have adamantly refused it. And the females aren't interested in them, either.
At one time, the two seemed so desperate to incubate an egg together that they put a rock in their nest and sat on it, keeping it warm in the folds of their abdomens, said their chief keeper, Rob Gramzay. Finally, he gave them a fertile egg that needed care to hatch. Things went perfectly, and a chick, Tango, was born.
For the next 2 1/2 months they raised Tango, keeping her warm and feeding her food from their beaks until she could go out into the world on her own. Gramzay is full of praise. "They did a great job," he said.
Roy and Silo are hardly unusual. Indeed, scientists have found homosexual behavior throughout the animal world.
This growing body of science has been increasingly drawn into charged debates about homosexuality in American society, on subjects from gay marriage to sodomy laws, despite reluctance from experts in the field to extrapolate from animals to humans. Gay groups argue that if homosexual behavior occurs in animals, it is natural, and therefore the rights of homosexuals should be protected. On the other hand, some conservative religious groups have condemned the same practices in the past, calling them "animalistic."
But if homosexuality occurs among animals, does that necessarily mean it is natural for humans? And that raises a familiar question: If homosexuality is not a choice, but a result of natural forces that cannot be controlled, can it be immoral?
The open discussion of homosexual behavior in animals is relatively new.
"There has been a certain cultural shyness about admitting it," said Frans de Waal, whose 1997 book, "Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape" (University of California Press), unleashed a torrent of discussion about animal sexuality.
Bonobos, apes closely related to humans, are wildly energetic sexually. Studies show that whether observed in the wild or in captivity, nearly all are bisexual and nearly half their sexual interactions are with the same sex. Females have been observed to engage in homosexual activity almost hourly.
Before his own book, "American scientists who investigated bonobos never discussed sex at all," said de Waal, director of the Living Links Center of the Yerkes Primate Center at Emory University in Atlanta. "Or they sometimes would show two females having sex together, and would say, 'The females are very affectionate.' "
Then in 1999, Bruce Bagemihl published "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" (St. Martin's Press), one of the first books of its kind to provide an overview of scholarly studies of same-sex behavior in animals. Bagemihl said homosexual behavior had been documented in some 450 species.
Last summer, the book was cited by the American Psychiatric Association and other groups in a "friend of the court" brief submitted to the Supreme Court in Lawrence vs. Texas, a case challenging a Texas anti-sodomy law. The court struck down the law.
In his book, Bagemihl describes homosexual activity in a broad spectrum of animals. He asserts that while same-sex behavior is sometimes found in captivity, it is actually seen more frequently in studies of animals in the wild.
Among birds, for instance, studies show that 10 to 15 percent of female western gulls in some populations in the wild are homosexual. Among mammals, male and female bottlenose dolphins frequently engage in homosexual activity, both in captivity and in the wild. Homosexuality is particularly common among young male dolphin calves. One male may protect another that is resting or healing from wounds inflicted by a predator. When one partner dies, the other may search for a new male mate.
Male and female rhesus macaques, a type of monkey, also exhibit homosexuality in captivity and in the wild. Males are affectionate to each other, touching, holding and embracing. Females smack their lips at each other and play games like hide-and-seek, peekaboo and follow the leader. And both sexes mount members of their own sex.
Some scientists say homosexual behavior in animals is not necessarily about sex. Marlene Zuk, a professor of biology at UC Riverside and author of "Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can't Learn About Sex From Animals" (University of California Press, 2002), notes that scientists have speculated that homosexuality may have an evolutionary purpose, ensuring the survival of the species. By not producing their own offspring, homosexuals may help support or nurture their relatives' young. "That is a contribution to the gene pool," she said.
Janet Mann, a professor of biology and psychology at Georgetown University who has studied same-sex behavior in dolphin calves, says their homosexuality "is about bond formation, not about being sexual for life."
She said studies show that adult male dolphins form long-term alliances, sometimes in large groups. As adults, they cooperate to entice a single female and keep other males from her. Sometimes they share the female, or they may cooperate to help one male.
"Male-male cooperation is extremely important," Mann said. The homosexual behavior of the young calves "could be practicing" for that later, crucial adult period, she added.
Scientists warn about drawing conclusions about humans. "For some people, what animals do is a yardstick of what is and isn't natural," Vasey said. "They make a leap from saying if it's natural, it's morally and ethically desirable."
But he added: "Infanticide is widespread in the animal kingdom. To jump from that to say it is desirable makes no sense. We shouldn't be using animals to craft moral and social policies for the kinds of human societies we want to live in. Animals don't take care of the elderly. I don't particularly think that should be a platform for closing down nursing homes."
What the animal studies do show, Zuk observed, is that "sexuality is a lot broader term than people want to think."
"You have this idea that the animal kingdom is strict, old-fashioned Roman Catholic," she said, "that they have sex just to procreate."
In bonobos, she noted: "you see expressions of sex outside the period when females are fertile. Suddenly, you are beginning to see that sex is not necessarily about reproduction."
Sadly, They broke up... and Silo left Roy for a FEMALE PENGUIN!!! :lol :lol
New York City's most famous gay penguin couple has split up.
Even worse, one of them has taken up with a female penguin new to the Central Park Zoo (search), the New York Post reports.
Silo and Roy, two male chinstrap penguins (search) native to the South Atlantic, made local headlines six years ago when they came out with their same-sex relationship.
Since then, the pair have successfully hatched and raised an adopted chick after trying to incubate a rock and become role models for six other same-sex couples among penguins at the zoo.
That all ended when Scrappy, a single female newly arrived from SeaWorld in San Diego, caught Silo's eye.
"Silo and Roy stopped spending as much time together or building a nest," said John Rowden, curator of animals at the zoo.
Silo promptly moved in with Scrappy, building a new nest with her. Zookeepers were at a loss to explain Silo's sudden conversion.
"Why does anyone bond? Why do people want to get married and divorced?" said Dr. Dee Boersma (search), penguin expert at the University of Washington in Seattle. "Presumably, they've got their reasons."
Silo and his hot-feathered home-wrecker have yet to produce an egg, but they've been busy trying.
On Thursday, Roy, all alone, sat disconsolately at the edge of the penguin area, staring at the wall. (this is sad )
"If you got divorced, would you want to see your old mate around?" reasoned Boersma.
Besides, she added, "he's probably courting other penguins, getting ready for next season."
and in Germany, in Bremen
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1275591.html
Zoo tempts gay penguins to go straight
A German zoo has imported four female penguins from Sweden in an effort to tempt its gay penguins to go straight.
The four Swedish females were dispatched to the Bremerhaven Zoo in Bremen after it was found that three of the zoo's five penguin pairs were homosexual.
Keepers at the zoo ordered DNA tests to be carried out on the penguins after they had been mating for years without producing any chicks.
It was only then they realised that six of the birds were living in homosexual partnerships.
Director Heike Kueck said that the zoo hoped to see some baby penguins in the coming months.
She said that the birds had been mating for years and one couple even adopted a stone that they protected like an egg. lol)
Kueck said that the project has the support of the European Endangered Species Programme because the penguins, which are native to South America, are an endangered species.
A biologist will be on hand to monitor the experiment.
But introducing the Bremerhaven penguins to their new Swedish friends may not be as successful as hoped after earlier experiments revealed great difficulties in separating homosexual couples.In case they show no interest, the zoo has also flown in two new male penguins "so that the ladies don't miss out altogether", Kueck added. lol )
an the latest! Gay penguin couple in china PUNISHED for trying to steal an egg from straght couple!!
http://www.russiatoday.com/features/news/33951
Gay penguins in baby theft shock
A gay couple in China, desperate for a child of their own, have resorted to preying on the infants of straight folks. Those involved live at a zoo in the northern city of Harbin. They are penguins.
The two birds were trying to cover their theft by placing stones at the feet of the parents, but they werent fooled for a minute. lol :lol :lol )
Zoo staff said the other penguins eventually began to ostracise the gay couple from the group.
And in order to protect the animals from frustration during the breeding season, animal keepers decided to keep the odd couple apart from the others.
Apparently the two penguins involved were very eager to have offspring, despite their sexual preferences.
"One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs. Despite this being a biological impossibility for this couple, the natural desire is still there," a keeper told the Austrian Times newspaper.
It is sad, funny and weird all at the same time