Chinstrap Penguins.

Photo credit to: National Geographic

So, I'm going to write a quick bio about my favorite species of penguins, the Chinstrap Penguin. Chinstrap Penguins got them name from the black strip under their heads that make it seem like they're wearing chin-strapped helmets but their scientific name is Psygoscelis Antartica. Chinstraps mostly live in colonies located at the South Sandwich Island of the Antarctic. They are considered near shore feeders and they primarily prey on krill while their main hunter is the leopard seal. Chinstraps are one of the more aggressive species and they are prone to kleptomania in regards of stealing stones from others' nests. Female chinstrap penguins lay 2 eggs at a time and the parents take turn keeping the eggs warm. Two well known Chinstrap Penguins are Roy and Silo of Central Park Zoo. They are homosexual who raised another couple's chick; they are the protagonists of the book And Tango Makes Three.

Homosexual Penguins.

The topic for today is: Homosexuality in Penguins.

The reason I'm writing about this is because Toronto Zoo is separating a same-sex penguin couple due to mating purposes. [Story url: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1085094--same-sex-penguins-must-separate-soon?bn=1 ]

Homosexual behavior has been documented by zoos about many animals but penguin homosexuality has reached fame after the news story about the two male chinstrap penguins in Central Park Zoo broke out. The two male penguins were witnessed to trying to hatch a makeshift egg from stone, witnessing this the zoo keepers decided to give the couple a real egg from a heterosexual couple who had trouble hatching their egg before. The heartwarming book, And Tango Makes Three was created from this the story.

Apart from New York other zoos in Japan and Germany have documented such events. Studies Germany have shown that even though they tried separating the penguins for mating purposes, but the bond was too strong between the homosexual males and the process failed. Now the Toronto is trying to do the same thing. They are trying to separate the two males because the they are Africans Penguins, which is part endangered species list. So my question to you readers is: Do you think it's right for them to be separated? Should "love" be split up because of practical reasons?