No, no, these sweaters are not for people, they are for penguins. And they were knitted by a volunteer named Alfie Data, who at 109 is the oldest person in Australia.
Alfie says he began knitting simple sweaters shortly after moving to a nursing home in southwestern Australia.
After learning that Alfie had a talent for knitting, two nurses who knew of Phillip Island Nature Park contacted him to drum up interest in knitting for penguins.
«I’m a wuss. I can’t say no,» Alfie says.
There was a recent oil spill on Phillip Island, and the island’s nature park clinic dressed the affected penguins in sweaters in an effort to keep the amount of oil they could absorb to a minimum.
The Phillip Island Penguin Foundation claims that «the substance also mattifies the penguin’s feathers, which prevents it from regulating its body temperature and reduces the animal’s buoyancy in the water.»
After the oil release near Phillip Island, 483 little penguins ended up in a rehabilitation center, 96% of which were eventually released back into the wild.
«I try to knit well so that my sweaters are flawless,» Alfie says. «Of course, I’m many years old, and I can make mistakes, but I don’t indulge myself. I’ve also never been good at saying no, I always agree to help everyone. It’s a great way to get along with people!»
The Phillip Island Penguin Foundation is proud to know Alfie Data and calls him their oldest knitter!
Currently, the center no longer needs sweaters, but with Alfie’s help, it was able to save the lives of many little penguins.
