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Have you ever thought about knitting a sweater for penguins?

Over the past decade, the penguin foundation, a charity on Philip Island, Australia, has continued to solicit Penguin sweaters from the whole society. Yes, penguins need sweaters, but not for loveliness, but for their life safety.

This doesn’t seem to be in line with our common sense, because in fact, penguins have long evolved physical mechanisms to resist the cold. Most penguins live in cold regions of the southern hemisphere, and the temperature in Antarctica is often lower than - 30 ℃. In addition to living on land, penguins also need to dive into water at − 1.8 ° C for food.

To keep warm, penguins’ thick feathers can help them block the cold wind and cold water. There are dense fluff under the feathers, which can provide them with 80% ~ 84% heat insulation effect. Under the heavy fur, penguins still have 30% fat. Penguins with this layer of “cold coat” can be said to be the most frost resistant birds.

But now, in some places, little penguins may need to wear human sweaters to keep them warm. The culprit of all this is the oil spill on the ocean.

From the end of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century, with the development of industry, a series of oil spills have occurred all over the world. Due to the difficulty of cleaning up, we can only wait for the oil to spread slowly. But for penguins, these toxic oils are deadly.

When the dirty oil covers the penguin fur, the oil will entangle the feathers, making the originally airtight feathers and fluff layer lose the effect of waterproof and heat preservation.

What’s more deadly is that penguins will ingest oil on their bodies when combing their feathers. These toxic oil may poison penguins and kill them.

Therefore, the animal protection organization of Philip nature park has called on knitting lovers to knit sweaters for penguins all over the world. These sweaters can provide temporary warmth for penguins who need to wash their bodies and prevent them from eating dirty oil by mistake.

This appeal triggered a “weaving boom”. In the 20 years since the project started, people all over the world have knitted nearly 100000 sweaters for these little penguins. These clothes are only 40 cm or less in length and look very cute. Creative weavers also designed a variety of patterns for them.

It can be said to be Penguin fashion week| Phillip Island Nature Parks

According to the penguin foundation, in 2001, an oil spill on Philip Island threatened the lives of 438 little penguins, but under the care of these love sweaters, 96% of the penguins were saved.

Penguin sweaters also continue to be popular. In 2011, a batch of sweaters sent to New Zealand saved another group of penguins from an oil spill.

However, the issue of animals wearing human made clothes has always been controversial. For example, dressing pet cats and dogs, although beautiful, may limit their exercise ability and even affect their thermoregulation ability. The same is true of penguins.

Bird protection groups also questioned the practice when knitting sweaters for penguins was popular. They suggested that these penguins are wild animals and should not be affected by humans. Sweaters may put extra pressure on their bodies and may even make them too hot. Wearing sweaters is probably another danger to penguins.

Although very cute, it may cause additional harm| animaltracks. today. msnbc. msn. com

Therefore, even the penguin foundation must admit that this kind of clothes is only temporary. After the penguins’ feathers return to normal, these clothes will no longer be used. In order to keep them warm, heating lamps can also be used.

Weavers can’t do whatever they want. Because the sweater that Penguin needs must be made of all wool and has a fixed weaving standard. Among the 100000 sweaters received, many sweaters are not suitable for penguins because they have too many patterns and do not meet the wearing standards.

However, these Penguin pullovers are worn on penguin toys. By selling Penguin dolls in sweaters, the foundation raises funds for wildlife on Philip Island, which may be another way to protect penguins.

Penguins wearing sweaters is still controversial. A penguin has to wear artificial clothes to live. It is a penguin named “Pierre”. In order to protect him, researchers have specially made a “diving suit” for him.

More than ten years ago, Pierre the penguin developed bald spots. This is a fatal disease for penguins, because without feathers, it means that they can’t keep warm. So Pierre had to shiver on the shore while the other Penguin partners were swimming.

In order to make him live like a normal penguin, the researchers designed a streamlined Penguin suit to ensure that he can keep warm and swim. Pierre also accepted the dress. After wearing a diving suit for some time, he not only lived normally, but also his bald spots began to recover. Under the protection of the staff, the penguin lived healthily for another 10 years.

Chickens may also need clothes. In the winter of 2007, a farm in Kent, UK, lost power. In order not to freeze the chickens, they also put on warm sweaters. On the farm where the electricity was cut off, the chickens had fashionable winter items.

Putting some animals on clothes may not be to look good, but to protect their lives. But for penguins, the best “clothes” are their own feathers and a clean marine environment.

Nothing can stop knitting lovers. After all, there are sweaters even in the headphone box now.