Everybody relax - there is not an urgent global call for little penguin jumpers
An Australian wildlife organisation has called on knitters around the world to stop knitting and sending jumpers for penguins - after an apparent 'appeal' for the pint-sized penguin garments went viral.
The Penguin Foundation, which runs a penguin conservation project on Phillip Island, south of Melbourne, said it had been "overwhelmed with offers of little penguin jumpers from across the world" after global media picked up on the story.
"These knitted penguin jumpers play an important role in saving little penguins affected by oil pollution," the Foundation had said on its website.
The jumpers prevent the birds from preening and swallowing the toxic oil before they are washed and the oil removed by staff, it continued.
However, with the 'appeal' making global headlines in the past week, an army of volunteers took up knitting needles on the penguins' behalf - including some in Ireland.
One completed, 7.5 inch penguin jumper, made by my mother for @penguinfdn :) pic.twitter.com/jVUVShuXmR
— Denise O'Donoghue (@deniseodonoghue) March 7, 2014
Leading the foundation to clarify that it did not, right now, have hundreds of little oily penguins clamouring for knitwear.
"Please know that we do not urgently require little penguin jumpers for rehabilitation," the foundation said in a post on its Facebook page.
"We have a good supply of these which we use on any rescued oiled penguins and in the event of an oil spill.
"We sincerely appreciate the generosity of knitters wanting to help out little penguins."
The deluge of penguin jumpers began earlier this month after a local Australian newspaper published a story on March 4 about Merle Davenport, a 96-year-old great-grandmother who has knitted more than 1,000 jumpers for the Phillip Island penguin population.
The irresistable combination of a heart-warming human effort - and penguins in knitwear - meant the story soon grew legs, making Australian national news on March 6 before going truly global.
Unfortunately, as journalists around the planet were intoxicated by the sight of penguins wearing jumpers, they forgot to mention that the 'urgent call for knitters' wasn't really that urgent at all - and that this wasn't the first time the internet had been captivated by the 'penguin jumper crisis' (that wasn't really a crisis).
Previous media flare-ups in 2000, 2001,2002 (when the Penguin Foundation received 14,000 jumpers!) and 2011 had resulted in a similar 'penguin jumper mountain' - with one NZ conservation foundation eventually being forced to buy toy penguins, dress them in the extra jumpers and sell them to raise funds.
Meanwhile other bird rescue experts have even expressed doubt as to whether the jumpers benefit the penguins - or could be causing them harm.
"The last thing we want to do is to put something over their feathers that causes the oil to be pressed against their skin, or impairs the evaporation of the aromatics put off by the oil," the International Bird Rescue organisation wrote in a 2011 blog post.
"Penguins and other birds can also overheat very quickly, and the sweaters increase this risk."
Oh.
Nonetheless, the knitting continues.
The beginnings of a penguin jumper for @PhillipIslandNP. It'll be a jazzy one! pic.twitter.com/AE9eC6JNNE
— Caroline McCarthy she/her (@_cemccarthy_) March 8, 2014
The Penguin Foundation insists that any excess supply of penguin jumpers will be distributed to other wildlife centres or sold to raise funds - so even jumpers that don't make it onto actual penguins will be helping out the little guys.
If you still want to knit one - just for the craic, or to send on - you can download the pattern here.
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