Adorable bald penguin Ralph in desperate need of a new wetsuit

All penguins moult their feathers every year, but not all at once like Ralph, who lives at the Marwell Zoo in the UK. His condition leaves him pink and vulnerable to the sun and cold.

By Meena Hart Duerson / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Courtesy of Marwell Wildlife

Ralph the Penguin, wearing a wetsuit at the Marwell Zoo.

A sensitive-skinned penguin is on the hunt for some new clothes to protect him from the elements, now that his current attire is wearing thin.
Ralph, a 13-year-old Humboldt penguin who lives at the Marwell Zoo in the UK, has a mysterious condition that causes him to lose his feathers at a much speedier pace than his fellow penguins, who shed theirs gradually.

To combat his enclosure’s icy climate, Ralph has worn a wetsuit for the last few years, which shields him from sunburn and cold weather.
“Penguins moult every year, which usually takes between four to six weeks to complete,” the zoo has explained in the past.

“However, Ralph loses all his feathers in the space of a few days, so new ones do not grow through in time, exposing his pale pink skin to the sun. The wetsuit protects Ralph’s sensitive skin until his new feathers have grown through, which his keepers think will take around a month.”

Courtesy of Marwell Wildlife

Zookeepers described him as an active bird who even grooms his artificial coat.

Zookeepers initially put Ralph in a wetsuit they created for him from the leg of a suit donated by a staffmember.
After his condition was publicized he became something of a zoo celebrity, and in 2010 someone donated a custom-made suit for him to wear.

Now that suit seems to be on its last legs, as can be seen in a video posted last week of Ralph strutting around in his tattered threads.
"Unfortunately Ralph's wetsuit is fraying around the edges and coming apart at the seams,” Anna Ing, who is in charge of caring for the penguins said, according to Rex Features.

"The wetsuit gets good use, Ralph is a bouncy character who is always out on the rocks exploring,” she added. “He regularly grooms the wetsuit, just as he would with his feathers, and his partner, Coral the penguin, is often seen grooming it too!”

"We now need another wetsuit for him to make sure he doesn't get sunburnt and to keep him warm."
Collection Manager David White made a public appeal for help in securing the penguin a new suit that’s just like the last one.

"Ralph is a very healthy bird, but for some reason his feathers drop out very quickly, before the new feathers grow back in time,” he said, according to AOL. “The last wetsuit was made to fit Ralph and had Velcro to make it easy to adjust when his feathers begin to come through and we are hoping for the same again."

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