Pierre the penguin

Pierre the penguin, an aged African Penguin ("Spheniscus demersus"), is the first penguin (and likely the first bird) to have bald spots restored.

In 2006, Pierre, a penguin kept at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, began developing bald spots on his head and tail where feathers would not grow back when lost. This posed a dangerous situation, as penguins need their feathers to keep them warm.

Medical tests revealed no useful information as to how this was happening. Pierre, who is the alpha male in his colony, was shunned by his fellow penguin friends. He wouldn't swim much, since the water was too cold and he could develop potentially fatal hypothermia.

Senior aquatic biologist Pam Schaller took Pierre under her wing when she saw him shivering. She attempted warming him with a heat lamp at first, and then thought about how divers dress in cold waters-- in wetsuits.

In 2007, Schaller designed a wetsuit with the help of Oceanic Worldwide, a world-renowned wetsuit manufacturer [cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/how-pierre-the-penguin-got-back-in-the-swim-again-815868.html|title=How Pierre the penguin got back in the swim again|publisher=The Independent|accessdate=2008-04-26|date=2008-04-26|author=Andrew Gumbel] to protect Pierre from the bitter cold that would have otherwise killed him. The wetsuit was in the shape of a vest, to allow movement when waddling and swimming. The vest was fastened using Velcro. After several attempts and close observances, the suit was fitted perfectly for Pierre. NPR's "All Things Considered" calls him "the world's best-dressed penguin". In fact, the other penguins seemed to think the same; they stopped picking on him when he began swimming again with the vest.

Six weeks after his vestment, Pierre showed signs of recovery, and the vest was removed. This may be a breakthrough in the avian world.

In February 2008, Pierre turned 25, which is five years longer than most captive penguins live.cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89951043|title=Pierre Sheds Wet Suit for Real Penguin Suit|accessdate=2008-04-26|date=2008-04-25|publisher=National Public Radio] Wild penguins live only 15 years. Today Pierre is alive and healthy, and he has regained his respect from the rest of his colony as the leader, overseeing 19 fellow penguins.

References

External links

* http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/how-pierre-the-penguin-got-back-in-the-swim-again-815868.html
* http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/28/AR2008042802568.html
* http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=144631&in_page_id=34
* http://www.digtriad.com/news/watercooler/article.aspx?storyid=102366&catid=176