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Knitters: The Penguins Don't Need Your Sweaters Anymore
By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 21, 2011
Modified Oct 21, 2011
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Oct 21, 2011
Modified Oct 21, 2011
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Well that was adorable while it lasted. Earlier this week we noted that penguins in New Zealand were in need of sweaters to keep them warm and safe after an oil spill, but now a Maritime New Zealand spokesman has said that they haven't needed the sweaters, and "don't know that they will be used at all." Turns out it's warm enough that the penguins can just be washed and left without protective gear. Also, penguins may not like to wear sweaters!
Natalie Clark, New Zealand bird and mammal keeper at the zoo, says, "Putting something like that on a penguin, it's probably only going to stress it out even more than they already are. These are wild penguins, they haven't had any interaction with humans. There's already enough stress on a bird without trying to put a sweater on it." Maybe knitters can start making human-sized sweaters for the soon-to-be cold Occupy Wall Street protesters instead?
Maree Buscke of Skeinz.com helped organize the call to knitters, and says an Australian group has contacted her for the excess sweaters—in the past, Aussie penguins have made use of them.
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knitting
new zealand
penguin jumpers
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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