When these little creatures survived a recent New Zealand oil spill, they needed sweaters to keep them from picking off the substance from their feathers. See more photos of birds with knitwear!
When folks working for the Wildlife Rescue Center saved some baby penguins during a recent oil spill in New Zealand, and they needed something to put over the birds to prevent them from preening their feathers and ingesting the oil already on their bodies, the owner of a knitting shop called Skeinz asked volunteers to knit “small penguin PJs,” and donations poured in after the story was featured on Good Morning America. The sweater saga has since gone viral, so here’s an entire gallery of little seabirds sporting knitwear.
A penguin is clad in a knitted sweater in an attempt to prevent ingestion of oil from a slick off Phillip Island, Tasmania, Australia, in January 2000. This is one of 53 penguins rescued by volunteers after spillage from an unknown ship off the coast.
AP Photo
Penguins dressed in Santa costumes at Everland, South Korea's largest amusement park, in November 2010.
Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
Penguins sit on rocks, admiring the ocean.
Penguins wearing traditional Korean dress walk during an event to celebrate Lunar New Year at Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea.
AP Photo
Jackass penguins, wearing colorful ribbons, take a walk at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium-amusement-park complex in Yokohama, Japan, in December 2009.
Itsuo Inouye / AP Photo
Penguins wearing jerseys bearing flags of Switzerland, South Korea, Togo, and France play with a miniature soccer ball during an animal soccer match to pray for the South Korean soccer team's success in the 2006 World Cup championship.
Lee Sang-Hack / AP Photo
Children watch penguins dressed in Santa Claus costumes at the South Korean amusement park Everland in December 2008.
Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
Penguins wearing the South Korean athletics uniform lend support to the national Olympic squad at an event at Everland amusement park in 2004.
Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
Penguins wearing the uniform of the South Korean national soccer team play with a miniature soccer ball to encourage South Korea's success in the 2010 World Cup.
Shin Young-gun / AP Photo
An oil-soaked penguin wears a sweater while housed in a warehouse in Cape Town, July 2000. Oil on their feathers affects penguins' natural insulation, and they consequently feel the cold; they are also unable to go back into the ocean to feed. The penguins were rescued from Robben Island after an iron-ore carrier sank, releasing fuel oil into the ocean.
Anna Zieminski / Getty Images
Penguins dressed in Christmas and Santa Claus costumes parade during a promotional event at Everland amusement park in South Korea in 2010.
Jung Yeon-Je / Getty Images
A featherless Humboldt penguin in a wetsuit goes for a swim in an enclosure in Singapore in 2011. The penguin had been experiencing continued feather loss since 2010 and was treated with customized wetsuits. The suit acts like a natural feather covering, providing warmth and insulation that also helps new feathers grow and prevents molting.
Roslan Rahman / Getty Images
