Perry-Garnette1

Gracie Perry-Garnette

Selena Wolf Berkley

English 101 - 005

21 November 2017

Dear Editor,

I write to you about the article of the "Crazy Gay" lions that should be separated. You

informed us about the lions and that the Kenyan officials want to separate the lions. It was stated

that the lions were misbehaving and set a horrible example in the animal kingdom. What many

people do not remember is that there have been many other cases of homosexuality in other

animals over hundreds of years. The statement " ... possible demonic possession, ..." is

concerning in the fact that possession has not been proven to be real by science. There could be

many reasons for this behavioral display that we are not taking in an account on that could be

very detrimental to the ecosystem. The lions should not be separated just because of different

uneducated beliefs that can cause severe repercussions.

There has always been a quarrel about the idea of homosexual relationships being

allowed. Many animals have displayed a gay relationship at some point in time. There is a book

about gay penguins trying to take care of a rock as if it was their egg. The book was meant for

children and is called, "Tango Makes Three." This story is based on a gay penguin couple at the

New York Central Park Zoo. Their relationship lasted six years before a more dominant pair

pushed them out of their nest, which caused the two to break up. The same might happen with

the two lions, if a more dominant male appears or if a prized female wanders into the territory
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that checks the eye of one of the males. This relationship could only be temporary in these lions'

lives.

There have been no confirmed cases of demonic possession in the science community.

The Kenyan Film Classification Executive, Ezekiel Mutua, made a statement about that demons

can possess animals too. However, I can understand that different cultures have ideas of demons

and malevolent spirits. But there have no confirmed cases for any evil spirits possessing people,

let alone controlling an animal. Then there is no reason or evidence that spirits could control the

lion for unknown reasons. The lions are behaving like lions in pride with multiple males.

The behavioral side of this situation could shed an underlying problem in the Savanna

that they inhabit. There have been other cases of male lions having sex with other male lions,

but this event is not as uncommon then it appears. Lions can show dominance over the other in

this stance. Dominance in lion prides is a key to the structure of the ecosystem. The dominant

male usually can pass his genes along to the next generation more readily than less aggressive

ones. Competing alpha pride males will kill off the cubs of other competing males to assert

dominance and to pass along their genes. Stress can also lead to this behavior to be shown. The

director of the lion research at the University of Minnesota, Craig Packer, said that "social

anxiety and realignment on dominant displays could cause this behavior" (Packer 2017). There

was also another similar picture that had happened about a year and a half ago. National

Geographic created an article about two male lions bonding, and it was a very incident to this

one that is happening currently. A study was done on gray seals, and they displayed a similar

situation to the African lions.

This event with the lions is a common event and should not be taken so seriously. There

is no evidence of demonic possession in these animals. There have also been other animals that
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have displayed homosexual attraction. Even this can just be a behavioral event for the moment,

but this will not destroy the species just because of this one pair. We just need to leave the lions

alone and allow them to do whatever they please.

Sincerely,

Gracie Perry-Garnette

Work Cited
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Kays, Roland W. Lion. Encyclopdia Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, inc., 31

Aug. 2017, www.britannica.com/animal/lion#ref827754.

CBS/AP. Kenyan official wants "crazy gay" lions isolated. CBS News, CBS
Interactive, 21 Nov. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/news/kenya-crazy-gay-lions-isolated-ezekial-
mutua-film-classification-board/.

Lidgard, Damian C, et al. The implications of stress on male mating behavior and
success in a sexually dimorphic polygynous mammal, the grey seal. Elsevier, 12 Oct. 2007.

Machlin, Sherri. Banned Books Week: And Tango Makes Three. The New York Public
Library, The New York Public Library, 26 Oct. 2015, www.nypl.org/blog/2013/09/23/banned-
books-week-and-tango-makes-three.

Miller, Jonathan. New Love Breaks Up a 6-Year Relationship at the Zoo. The New
York Times, The New York Times, 24 Sept. 2005, www.nytimes.com/2005/09/24/nyregion/new-
love-breaks-up-a-6year-relationship-at-the-zoo.html.

Viral Photos Don't Show Lions Mating, Just Males Bonding. National Geographic,
National Geographic Society, 22 Apr. 2016, news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160422-
lions-africa-mating-sex-animals-science/.