Tuesday, 2 September 2014

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #285 Knit Jumpers for Penguins

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #285 Knit Jumpers for Penguins


Oil spills are deadly to many marine creatures. One popular local fella is the ‘little penguin’, a beautiful bird unique to our part of the planet here in Australia. Each penguin can be killed by a small patch of oil the size of a thumb nail. Imagine the devastation from a large oil spill. When a penguin is affected by oil, their feathers are separated and matted, allowing water to penetrate and cause the penguin to become very cold. When fortunate enough to be taken into human care, a special penguin jumper is put on them to prevent them from preening and ingesting oil, until they can be washed thoroughly and released back into the wild. You can help the little penguins by knitting a penguin jumper when they put out a call for them following a serious oil spill. Unfortunately I had thought of this Flower suggestion months ago, and now I have come to it, the penguin foundation has recently undergone a big publicity drive, including a jumper competition, and has now requested that no more jumpers be sent at this time. However, you could still help out by making a financial donation while keeping your eyes open for the next callout for jumpers. www.penguinfoundation.org.au
Meanwhile, how are the marine animals rescued and protected following an oil spill in your country? Let me know.

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