Ralph the bald penguin gets a wetsuit

A bald penguin at Marwell Wildlife, Hampshire, UK has been given a specially-designed wetsuit to help protect him from the risk of sunburn.  

Penguins moult every year, which usually takes between four to six weeks to complete. However, Ralph, a nine year old Humboldt penguin, lost all of his feathers in one day, exposing his pale pink skin to the sun. The wetsuit will protect Ralph's sensitive skin until his new feathers have grown through, which his keepers think will take another two to three weeks.  

Ralph's keepers made the wetsuit out of the leg of an adult wetsuit donated by a member of Marwell's staff. The stretchy material lets Ralph move around normally, and after a few minutes adjusting he was happily back to swimming around in the penguin pool.  

David Schofield, Head Keeper for the penguins said: "At first the other penguins were curious but it wasn't long before they recognised and accepted Ralph again. He doesn't seem to mind the wetsuit and is able to swim and move around normally. It was quite easy to fit and we were able to customise it by creating the extra openings for his flippers once he was in it."  

Humboldt penguins live along the coats of Peru and Chile within the reaches of Humboldt Current, a cold current of water running from the Antarctic to the equator, from which they take their name. Humboldt penguins are thought to be declining in number, possibly due to El Nino increasing water temperatures and reducing food supply.  

Notes to editors  

Photographs provided are of Ralph, the bald Humboldt penguin at Marwell Wildlife wearing a wetsuit to protect his skin from the sun.

For further media information please contact Helen Jeffreys, Marwell Wildlife Media Relations Officer. Email: helenj@marwell.org.uk Phone: 01962 777947

Penguins normally shed their feathers at the same time as new ones come through. Ralph's fast moult this meant that Marwell Wildlife's keepers needed to help protect Ralph's sensitive skin until his new feathers come through.

As with all penguins, the Humboldts are both flightless and aquatic. Penguins have specialised feathers and each year they undergo a complete moult. The new feather grows underneath the old one, forcing it out, meaning that the old feathers are not discarded until the new ones are in place.

Penguins' eyes are adapted for underwater vision, but they can still see adequately out of the water. Experiments undertaken with captive birds have suggested that Humboldts also have a sense of smell.

Penguins have a modified bone structure in their wings allowing them to 'fly' under the water. They use their tails and webbed feet as rudders.

Humboldts feed on fish, mainly anchovies, sardines, mullet, and similar schooling fish. The mouth and tongue is lined with fleshy, backward pointing spines, which help in holding slippery prey. Very little is known about the techniques of prey capture. Once prey has been located the birds tend to stay under the water catching and swallowing the fish. Most prey is swallowed head first, while the bird is swimming, but larger items are brought up to the surface. They have highly developed glands enabling them to deal with high levels of salt in their diet. Excess salt is excreted in a concentrated saline solution, which tends to dribble down the bill.

Humboldts nest in small colonies, using holes, cracks or caves, occasionally in more open sites. As they inhabit tropical zones they are able to nest at any of the year, so they adjust their breeding to tie in with local availability of food.

Penguins are highly social birds and have a well developed system of communication, both visual and vocal. Individuals' calls are distinguishable, enabling partners to recognise each other and their chicks in the midst of the colony. The Humboldt has three main calls - a contact call, a display call and a threat call.

Threats to penguins include egg collecting, disturbance, habitat destruction, predation by introduced species and pollution. Natural phenomena such as El Nino also cause serious problems to the Humboldts, producing slumps in adult numbers and breeding failure. El Nino in 1982/83 caused the loss of 65% of the Peruvian population of Humboldt penguins.  

Formerly owned by the Marwell Preservation Trust Limited, Marwell Wildlife remains a registered charity dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and the natural world.  

Marwell Wildlife seeks to address causes of extinction such as habitat loss and the over-exploitation of biological resources and to manage vulnerable populations of threatened species to ensure their survival. This is achieved through a range of species and habitat conservation programmes locally through Marwell's base in southern England and internationally, with a particular focus in Africa.

Marwell Wildlife is a registered charity, Number: 275433.

Marwell Wildlife is a member of the British and Irish Association of zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA). BIAZA represents its member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums.  

Marwell Wildlife, Colden Common, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 1JH. www.marwell.org.uk