Roy and Silo facts for kids
Roy and Silo were chinstrap penguins, like the ones shown here.
|
|
| Species | Chinstrap penguin |
|---|---|
| Sex | Both male |
| Hatched | 1987 (age 37–38) |
| Known for | Two male penguins who formed a pair |
| Offspring | Tango |
Roy and Silo were two male chinstrap penguins. They were born in 1987. They lived at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. Zoo staff noticed in 1998 that Roy and Silo acted like a couple. They did things like wrapping their necks together. One of them even tried to hatch a rock in 1999. This made the zookeepers think.
They gave Roy and Silo an egg from another penguin pair. That pair could not hatch two eggs well. Roy and Silo took care of the egg. A chick hatched, and they raised her. They named her Tango. Later, Tango also paired with another female penguin. Roy and Silo eventually separated. In 2005, Silo found a new partner, a female penguin named Scrappy. Roy and Silo's story became a children's book. It was also featured in a play. Other zoos have since let male penguin pairs adopt eggs. Both Tango and Roy have now passed away.
The Story of Roy and Silo
Roy and Silo started their special bond in 1998. They showed behaviors typical of penguin couples. This included wrapping their necks together. They also made mating calls. In 1999, they tried to hatch a rock. They even tried to take eggs from other penguins.
Zoo staff realized both Roy and Silo were male. They gave the pair a fake egg to test them. Roy and Silo took good care of it. So, the zookeepers gave them a real egg. It came from a pair that struggled to hatch two eggs. Roy and Silo sat on the egg for 34 days. They then spent two and a half months raising the chick. It was a healthy female named Tango. When Tango grew up, she paired with another female penguin, Tanuzi. They stayed together for two mating seasons.
After their story became famous, Roy and Silo separated. A more aggressive penguin pair pushed them from their nest. In 2005, Silo found a new partner. She was a female penguin named Scrappy. Scrappy had moved from SeaWorld Orlando in 2002. Roy then paired with another male penguin named Blue. Both Tango and Roy have since died.
Their Impact on Others
Roy and Silo were not the first male penguin pair in New York. Two other penguins, Wendell and Cass, were known in 2002. They lived at the New York Aquarium. But Roy and Silo became famous in 2004. The New York Times wrote a story about them. The article called them "gay penguins." It also mentioned other similar penguin pairs.
Roy and Silo's story inspired two children's books. One was And Tango Makes Three. It was written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Henry Cole drew the pictures. The other book was German, called Zwei Papas für Tango. And Tango Makes Three became very popular. It was also debated by some groups. It was listed as one of the most challenged books for five years. But it still became a bestseller. Roy and Silo were also characters in plays. These included Birds of a Feather and And Then Came Tango.
The breakup of Roy and Silo was seen differently by some. Some people who saw them as role models were disappointed. Others said that the actions of two penguins do not answer big questions about behavior. A study in 2010 found that male penguin pairs are common. But these pairings usually do not last many years.
News stories about zoos splitting up male penguin pairs caused upset. This happened when some penguin species were decreasing in numbers. But many zoos have since allowed male penguin pairs to adopt eggs or chicks. In 2009, German zookeepers gave an egg to two male Humboldt penguins. Their names were Z and Vielpunkt. They hatched the egg and raised the chick. In 2011, Chinese zookeepers gave a chick to a male penguin pair. This was because the chick's parents could not care for two chicks.
In 2018, Sealife Sydney in Australia saw two male Gentoo penguins. They successfully hatched an egg. They had been seen with a fake egg before. In 2020, they hatched a second egg. Their first chick also had her own chick. The Central Park Zoo has had other male and female penguin pairs. In 2014, zookeepers at Wingham Wildlife Park in the UK gave an egg to a male Humboldt penguin pair. Their names were Jumbs and Kermit. The egg had been left by its mother. The park owner said they were "two of the best penguin parents we have had yet."
See also
- List of individual birds
- Sphen and Magic
- Penguin behavior
- List of animals displaying homosexual behavior
