So it turns out those cute sweater-wearing penguins in Phillip Island are running out of jumpers, so pass me the knitting needles and call me grandma because I’m not gonna let these adorable tuxedo birds walk around naked.
The Phillip Island penguins aren’t just rocking cute sweaters as a fashion statement, the knitted jumpers actually have a much more important role, according to the ABC.
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Basically, when oil spills happen (bad), penguins end up with gross oil in their feathers and inevitably try to get it out. However, oil is toxic to the birds, and many penguins have died after ingesting the oil while trying to remove it from their feathers. So that’s where the sweaters come in.
Workers from the Phillip Island Nature Parks Wildlife Clinic put the sweaters on the little penguins until they can have a bath and clean them up. This prevents them from swallowing any oil, and obviously makes them look absolutely adorable.
Although they look cute as heck, it’s important to remember that oil spills are fucked and have catastrophic environmental impacts including the death of wildlife like these cutie tuxedo boys.
Back in 2014, an ABC News story on the Phillip Island ‘Knits For Nature’ program introduced Australians to the cute sweater-wearing penguins, and obviously we all fell in love and they received about 10,000 sweater donations.
But unfortunately many of these jumpers were the wrong shape or size, or contained embellishments that were potentially dangerous for the birds. Penguins don’t need accessories, guys. Only sweaters.
“Tens of thousands were sent in from around the world and we were really grateful, but unfortunately most weren’t suitable for penguin rehabilitation,”Phillip Island Nature Parks Wildlife Rehabilitation Officer Jodi Bellett said.
But it’s okay, because that’s why I think we should all learn to knit. Australia’s oldest man used to do it, and he was 110, so you’ve literally got no excuse.
Go on. What are you doing? It better be knitting cute penguin sweaters.
“The Phillip Island Nature Park has recently added a further 6.7 hectares of little penguin habitat that could house a further 1,400 penguins, so we’re asking knitters to match that number with rehabilitation jumpers in case another oil spill occurs,” Ms Bellett said
Fingers crossed there isn’t another oil spill, but Phillip Island Wildlife Centre are asking for 1400 more sweaters just in case. You know, because we keep spilling oil into the fucking ocean.
You can download the penguin sweater pattern at penguinfoundation.org.au.
