Connecting The Dots Project
Honoring Mr. Alfie Date
A man who knitted sweaters for penguins after oil spill
Australia's oldest man at that point in time, who passed away at the age of 110 in 2016, had always enjoyed knitting since 1932. A few hours after being placed in a retirement home, he learned about Knits for Nature, a program that collects jumpers (sweaters)for little penguins (only about 33cm tall) that are suffering from oil spills in Phillip Island Nature Park in Australia. Mr. Alfie Date did not waste any time and chose to start knitting jumpers . These garments serve as a protective barrier, preventing the penguins from ingesting toxic oil while preening feathers until rescue staff can wash them clean. Besides the potential fatality from ingestion, the oil also harms their delicate feathers, leaving their skin exposed to cold temperatures. This distressing situation leaves the penguins feeling cold, burdened, and unable to swim or hunt for food. The jumpers serve as temporary relief and are eventually removed from the penguins once they are completely cleaned.
Penguin Foundation Officer Lauren Barker told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in a 2019 interview. "Thankfully 96 percent of them were successfully released and penguin rehabilitation jumpers played quite a big part in that."
Meanwhile, a dispute has arisen over the practice. In a blog boldly titled "Why Sweaters on Birds are Bad," posted on the website of the renowned California-based International Bird Rescue in October 2011, director Emeritus Jay Holcomb criticized the practice, arguing that the sweaters stress out the birds, hinder their ability to thermoregulate, and cause more damage by pressing the oil against the birds' skin.
We have not yet found studies that validate either side of the claims if using a sweater as a temporary protection would be harmful to the bird or not.
Sources: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/knitting-penguin-sweaters/
