Finally a solution to save all the penguins that die as a result of oil spills — make them wear adorable penguin sweaters.
Many penguins perish when they ingest the poisonous oil while trying to lick the gunk off of their bodies. That’s when people at Australia’s Phillip Island Nature Park figured out that if the arctic birds are wearing sweaters they won’t be able to get their mouths on the oil, Caters News Agency reports.
The demand for the customized sweaters has been so overwhelming that the Penguin Foundation — which successfully saved and rehabilitated 96% of the 454 penguins affected during the 2001 Phillip Island oil spill — has stopped accepting sweater submissions.
“Oiled birds often die from exposure and starvation because the oil separates and mats feathers,” said Penguin Foundation spokesperson, Danene Jones. “Knitted penguin jumpers play an important role in saving little penguins affected by oil pollution.”
The fashionable sweaters, that come in a variety of styles including stripes, spots and even one with the Penguin books logo, allow the penguins to live out their normal lives without the risk of being poisoned by a deadly slick of oil.
When one of the tiny swimmers is rescued from the wild, they receive a sweater and are eventually sent on their way.
“It allows water to get in which makes a penguin very cold, heavy and less able to successfully hunt for food,” Jones said. “A single patch of oil the size of a thumb nail is enough to kill a baby penguin.”