What is it with birds losing their feathers lately?

Just the other day, PopFi had a story about a naked cockatoo. Now we get another featherless feature.

Pierre the penguin has puzzled biologists at the California Academy of Sciences. The 25-year-old African penguin began to lose his feathers due to age. The feathers act as an insulating property, and as a result of the loss, the bird was swimming less in the cold water and was under more frequent attacks due to a loss of status in the penguin pecking order.

A creative scientist came up with the idea of fitting Pierre with a custom designed wet suit to keep him warm. The suit has holes for his flippers and is held in place by velcro straps allowing Pierre his normal range of motion while keeping him warm in the water.

Fortunately, the plan worked and Pierre is back in the swim of things.

Tags: penguin, feathers, surfer, wet suit, design, science, nature, weird animals, funny animals, strange animals, strange news, weird news

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