I'm not saying that a$$hole isn't out there. The world is full of them and let's face it, if you are a big enough dick to want to jump over a penguin, they don't especially move very fast on land to prevent this indignation.
However, today, the penguin jumpers about which I'm writing are actually tiny little sweaters knit especially to help penguins recovering from injuries sustained by oil spills. Since the fact that penguins are injured in this fashion is, of course, horrific, the very least we can do as a species is make sure that those injured both rest comfortably and look smashing while doing so. I think you'll agree that in this instance, the Australians have nailed it.
Generally speaking, I'm against dressing up animals in human clothing. In this case, I'm completely going the other way. You may actually have no soul if you feel differently.
The sweaters are used to prevent the birds from ingesting oil while preening themselves. The oil also causes their feathers to mat, reducing their body temperature.
The Phillip Island Nature Reserve's "Knits for Nature" program was most successful and all of the sweaters needed were completed by volunteers. One such volunteer was Australia's oldest man, Alfred Date, who knitted his penguin jumper at the commendable age of 109.
Additional information about the program can be found on the Australian Penguin Foundation website. And yes, you can financially adopt a penguin to further help the program.
You can find more photographs at The Huffington Post. If you have forgotten what penguins look like in their everyday clothes, they do still look quite fashionable in a simple tuxedo.
12 February 2015
13 February Addition: I've decided to tack on one more photograph because it is just too awesome not to.
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