Roy & Silo: Gay Penguins

[gardener]

Below is a story from the February 8 The Observer in the UK.

The full story isn't here, as I know that human and penguin sexuality are different, and that we shouldn't take clues from birds, particularly birds that are unnatural anyway, in (1) standing upright, and (2) not being able to fly except on airplanes. But here's a link to the entire story.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/inter...143549,00.html

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New York flips as penguins come out in Central Park

Robin McKie, science editor
Sunday February 8, 2004
The Observer

As gays go, Roy and Silo are not unusual. They cohabit, are affectionate in public and have been inseparable for years. Only their species marks them out. The New York pair are chinstrap penguins.

Every day at Manhattan's Central Park Zoo the two males entwine necks, vocalise to each other and have, er, sex. When offered female companionship, they decline.

Roy and Silo have even displayed urges to procreate, and once tried to hatch a rock. Finally their keeper, Rob Gramzay, gave them a fertile egg from another brood. Tango, their chick, was born later. The pair raised it lovingly. 'They did a great job,' admits Gramzay.

According to a study of the penguins released this weekend in the New York Times, Milou and Squawk - another pair of Central Park's male chinstraps - have started hanging out together, billing and bowing. At the New York Aquarium on Coney Island, Wendell and Cass - male blackfoot penguins - are a devoted couple.

[kuri]

Lets see if the zealous throngs protesting the right of gay individuals to live happily up in Boston come down to NYC and get after these dirty birds

Wow, this could replace last week's booby-gate! Those gates just keep coming quicker these days.

the zealous throngs protesting the right of gay individuals

OR
The people supporting the defense of marriage law, passed and signed by the zealous Bill Clinton?

Sorry, no politics..but the quote took it there, and touches on a very sensitive political debate, and to minimize the opposing viewpoint seems pretty cheap.

Interesting read though..To be honest I've never read about gay animals before. Is this a 10% of animals ratio? Somewhere someone must have been doing studies on this..

[poopy pants]

What did you expect.

Tony,

September 10, 1996
Web posted at: 5:15 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate gave final congressional approval Tuesday to a bill that would deny federal recognition of same-sex marriages and give states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states.

Senators voted 85-14 for the Defense of Marriage Act. The House overwhelmingly passed the bill in July, and President Clinton has said he will sign it.


My guess is that since 85 senators voted in favor of it, and the president signed it..that maybe there is more to the issue than denying homosexuals the right to happiness. Perhaps everyone in government is a zealot bent on denying happiness?

Sorry about the hijacked thread, I did enjoy the article Gardener

[poopy pants]

Woe is me.




Good article BTW Gardner.