Cuteness overload: a penguin with feather loss got a tiny wetsuit to stay warm
Hold onto your hearts and prepare for feels: We’ve just learned that there’s a penguin out there who’s suffering from feather-loss has received a custom-built wetsuit so he can swim and still feel all nice and cozy in the water and OMG OUR HEARTS.
The female Adelie penguin named Wonder Twin, lives at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. And feather loss, just like hair loss, is just a thing that some penguins experience in their lives — and can happen in the wild, too! It’s rough for those penguins that do experience it, because feathers are what keep them warm in frigid climates: Layers of feathers trap heat so they don’t get cold. Losing its feathers, then, can be really detrimental to a penguin’s health.
When Wonder Twin began exhibiting feather loss, the team at SeaWorld Orlando stepped in to keep her warm. In a video, a SeaWorld aviculturalist named TJ and wardrobe craftsperson Maria Barreto talk about making the tiny penguin wetsuit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHzr9b2ItzY?feature=oembed
Barreto, who made the tiny penguin wetsuit, was excited for the project. She's shown with a suited-up Wonder Twin, and shares her take on the events: “I am happy that everything [is] going okay… and she can wear [the wetsuit] for keeping her warm.
Wonder Twin definitely looks truly adorable (and cozy) in her little wetsuit; it seems to be working to keep her, and our hearts, super warm.