In 2009, German zookeepers gave an egg to a male same-sex pair of Humboldt penguins named Z and Vielpunkt, which hatched the egg and raised the chick. The act of allowing a same-sex pair of penguins to adopt either an egg or a chick in the same manner as Roy and Silo has been repeated more than once. Dwindling numbers of some species of penguins contributed to those decisions. The publicity on the subject caused public outcry among gay and lesbian communities when stories were published about zoo keepers forcibly splitting up same-sex penguin couples. A 2010 study by France's Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology found that homosexual pairings in penguins is widespread, but such pairings do not usually last more than a few years. Some gay activists might actually be angry." A spokesperson for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force responded by explaining that the actions of two penguins is not a good way of answering the question of whether sexual orientation is a choice or a birthright. Warren Throckmorton said through Christian right organization Focus on the Family that "For those who have pointed to Roy and Silo as models for us all, these developments must be disappointing. The Austin Chronicle recognized the production with an Honorable Mention in its "Top 10 Theatrical Wonders of 2011." Ĭertain groups jumped on the breakup of the pair as a victory for their ideals. And Then Came Tango, a play/ballet for young audiences by Emily Freeman, was premiered during the March 2011 Cohen New Works Festival at The University of Texas at Austin. Roy and Silo have also been featured as characters in theatrical works, including the play Birds of a Feather, a character-driven piece about both gay and straight relationships, which made its début in Fairfax, Virginia in July 2011. And Tango Makes Three itself became controversial, being listed as one of the top ten most banned books in public libraries and schools across America for five years in a row, but became a bestseller. Roy and Silo's story became the basis for two children's books, And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole, and the German-language Zwei Papas für Tango ( Two Daddies for Tango) by Edith Schrieber-Wicke and Carola Holland. The article described them as "gay penguins", and listed two other pairs of penguins in New York that showed similar behavior. However, attention was first brought to Roy and Silo after The New York Times published a story about them in May 2004. Roy and Silo were not the first same-sex male penguin couple to be known in New York, as a pairing of two penguins named Wendell and Cass at New York Aquarium was reported in 2002. In 2005, Silo found another partner, a female called Scrappy, which had been brought from SeaWorld Orlando in 2002, while Roy remained single. Shortly after their story broke in the press, Roy and Silo began to separate after a more aggressive pair of penguins forced them out of their nest. As of 2005, the two had paired for two mating seasons. When she reached breeding age, Tango paired with another female penguin called Tanuzi. Roy and Silo incubated the egg for 34 days and spent two and a half months raising the healthy young chick, a female named "Tango". As it was "incubated real well", it occurred to the zoo keepers to give them the second egg of a penguin couple, a couple which previously had been unable to successfully hatch two eggs at a time. When the zoo staff realized that Roy and Silo were both male, they tested them further by replacing the rock with a dummy egg made of stone and plaster. They also attempted to steal eggs from other penguin couples. In 1999 the pair were observed trying to hatch a rock as if it were an egg. They were observed conducting mating rituals typical of their species including entwining their necks and mating calls. Roy and Silo met at the zoo and they began their relationship in 1998. The practice of allowing pairs of male penguin couples to adopt eggs has been repeated in other zoos around the world. Roy and Silo's story has been made into a children's book and featured in a play. Roy and Silo drifted apart after several years, and in 2005, Silo paired with a female penguin called Scrappy. Tango herself was viewed in a similar situation with another female penguin. This inspired zoo keepers to give them an egg from a pair of penguins, which could not hatch it, resulting in both of them raising a chick that was named Tango. They were noted by staff at the zoo in 1998 to be performing mating rituals, and one of them in 1999 attempted to hatch a rock as if it were an egg. Roy and Silo (born 1987) were two male chinstrap penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo. Roy and Silo are chinstrap penguins, similar to those pictured.
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