I joke about it, but as this article makes clear, this is serious. We're talking about the extinction of their species. There's an excellent story in the National Post:
“The two girls have been following them; we just have to get the boys interested in looking at them,” said Tom Mason, curator of birds and invertebrates at the Toronto Zoo.So they just haven't found the right girl. I've heard that one before.
With Pedro and Buddy’s species on the cusp of extinction, Mr. Mason insists that the Toronto Zoo cannot afford to let a season go by without passing on the pair’s genes. “If [Pedro and Buddy] weren’t genetically important, then we’d let them do their thing,” Mr. Mason said.
Pedro and Buddy’s separation will only last as long as they can inseminate their respective female partners. While incubating eggs, the two may well be back “side by side.” Once breeding season is up, Pedro and Buddy will “probably” ditch their female partners and reunite, said Bill Rapley, executive director for conservation, education and wildlife at the Toronto Zoo.It really is an interesting, and funny at times, article. But with extinction at hand, I think we can give our blessing to a temporary effort to split the boys up for the good of all penguinkind.
