109 Year Old Man Makes Sweaters For Penguins
Alfred Data made a very important initiative at the ripe old age of 109. He was the oldest man in Australia and was involved with the penguins damaged by the oil spilled on Phillip Island. Alfred knew how to sew sweaters and had decided to put this skill of his at the service of the penguins.
A beautiful story
This story began in 2013, when Phillip Island’s Peguins Foundation was looking for volunteers to help these small animals living in New Zealand who are struggling with oil spilled in southern Australia.
Alfred decided to cooperate in the best way he knew. She had learned to sew in 1932, when she made a sweater for her newborn grandson, so she saw the possibility of modifying the measurements of her creations to fit the penguins. With age, Alfred’s hands had lost their ability, but each sweater was still perfect.
A necessary garment for penguins
When the unfortunate penguins arrive at the foundation, a sweater is put on so that the substance does not stick to the feathers. In 2001, about 438 penguins were hit by oil on Phillip Island, where a colony of 32,000 specimens usually lives and, thanks to these sweaters, about 97% of the animals managed to rehabilitate themselves in the clinic.
Other people in the initiative
Alfred Date, who had 7 children and 20 grandchildren, was not the only person to collaborate in this initiative. Hundreds of people around the world followed him. So Phillip Island’s Penguins Foundation in 2004 had to ask volunteers not to send more clothes given the surplus of garments arriving.
Some experts were against the initiative, arguing that such leaders could have stressed the penguins, wild animals that had never had contact with humans.
It even went so far as to argue that sweaters made oil stick more to the skin. In addition, the International Bird Rescue organization claimed that the last thing to do was to put something on the animals’ feathers.
Despite such contrary views, the data obtained in the course of the project revealed a distinct reality. The lives of many of these animals were saved thanks to this idea.
Concern for a large number of the 438 victims was high. It is a great satisfaction to be able to say that I have saved the lives of almost all of them.
The plague of oil
The effect of oil on these animals is to separate their feathers. In doing so, the water passes through them and the temperature drops, which makes the animal very heavy. Hunting for food in such conditions is difficult and the animals starve. Furthermore, cleaning themselves with their beak, they ingest all kinds of toxic substances.
The sweaters that were made were intended to prevent oil from damaging the penguins’ feathers and to ensure that the wings and beak did not get entangled. Being made of pure wool, the penguins could keep warm without running the risk of getting too hot, and they were also able to breathe well through this material.
Wool can absorb some oil, but in small quantities.
Excess items
Items that were not needed for rehabilitation were put on to stuffed penguins that were later sold to raise funds. The sum obtained was destined for various research and conservation projects. This intelligent use of resources has generated interesting inputs invested in new research in favor of the animals most in need.
