Sweaters For Penguins

Jan. 29, 2000

A tight-knit group of women in Utah is helping out with an environmental and wildlife disaster half a world away. When they first heard how they could help, they laughed. They're still in good humor today, but now, know the importance of their project. News Specialist Jed Boal explains.

Chances are, you've never seen one of these before-- it's a sweater for a penguin! Some women in Salt Lake are busy knitting them. You may think a penguin needs a sweater like a fish needs a bicycle. But it's truly a matter of life and death.

Linda Parker: "Our first reaction was hysterical laughter."

Linda Parker and a couple dozen other women knit sweaters for penguins.

A friend on a Church mission in Australia wrote Linda an odd letter last summer and told her women around the world were putting the needles together for the loveable birds.

Waves of oil-polluted water regularly coat the Southern Autralian coast, nearly a dozen illegal or accidental discharges each year. The sludge washes up onto Phillip Island, southeast of Melbourne, and kills and sickens countless Ferry Penguins or Little Penguins.

This recent one-ton oil slick trashed two miles of coastline.

"These little guys are so little, even a little oil will cause them some problems."

When rescuers wash the penguins, they wash off the oil, but they also strip the birds' feathers of natural oils, and that limits their insulation.

Linda Parker/Penguin Sweater Knitter: "They put these little vests on them to keep the insulation in, keep them warm."

It also keeps the birds from preening themselves, and swallowing the oil which hasn't been washed out.

Over the past six months, they've knitted more than 100 penguin sweaters in all sorts of different colors, even the colors of the Utah Jazz. And they even had some donations from local wool shops.

"I don't think anyone wants to wear a sweater that color, so they've given us some good deals. And frankly, I don't think the penguins care."

A first they got a lot of snickers. But many local knitters are now in the know. Laura Fuhriman is starting to knit again. The penguin sweater is not a bad project.

Laura Fuhriman/Penguin Sweater Knitter: "It doesn't matter if you make a mistake, because the penguins don't care."

They plan to ship off that box of 100 sweaters in the next week. But, the project continues. The oil keeps coming, the wool eventually disintegrates, so the penguins can always use a new sweater.

Also, to learn more about the penguins, go to www.phillipisland.net.au.