Hey, you know the joke - What's
Black and White and Read all over? A newspaper! Except in
this case the correct answer to that joke is a bald sunburnt penguin
named Ralph, who lives at Marwell
Wildlife in Hampshire, England.
Like all penguins, Ralph loses his feathers every year, but while the rest
of his clan sheds them over a period of four to six weeks, the
10-year-old Humboldt penguin seems to lose his, in just a few days -
which means he remains bald for a few weeks, until the new feathers
have time to grow in.
With his pale skin exposed to the sun, poor Ralph could easily get sunburnt
and often had to be moved indoors - Until the folks at the Marwell
Wildlife came up with an great solution - A wetsuit!
The custom suit is made out of a soft gel-like material called neoprene
and, has Ralph's name printed on it. The material expands so that Ralph
can move around normally. They also added Velcro to the suit so that
when his new feathers start growing, it can be expanded.
Ralph has been wearing his suit for a year now and he and his
partner Cora seem quite happy with his new attire - Other penguins also
seem to swarm around him when he is wearing it - probably jealous of
their name from the cold Humboldt water current that runs from the
Antarctica to the Equator. Also known as Peruvian Penguins, they live
on the rocky mainland shores and do not migrate. They can live up to 20
years in the wild and as many as 30, in captivity.
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