最近，一条“导师辞职去南极给企鹅织毛衣”的内容在小红书上爆火。内容的发布者是小红书上一位英国留学生。不久前，她给自己的导师发了封邮件，结果得到了对方出人意料的答复：
"Thank you for your email. I have left to pursue my dream of crocheting sweaters for penguins in Antarctica and no longer work for the School of Economics. I will be out of office on a permanent, indefinite, open-ended basis until my penguin friends are happy."
“感谢你的邮件。我已经辞职了，去追求我的梦想，为南极洲的企鹅编织毛衣。我将永久、无期限地离开工作岗位，直到我的企鹅朋友们高兴为止。”
图源：小红书
或许你会觉得这位老师的辞职理由很幽默，但其实这是一个真实存在且由来已久的公益活动。
A Chinese student studying in the UK said her tutor, who quit education to knit sweaters for penguins in Antarctica, has been generating buzz online. The charitable act of knitting sweaters for penguins is, in fact, a real initiative.
给企鹅织毛衣
20世纪90年代末，澳大利亚菲利普岛附近海域发生了一起严重的石油泄漏事故，由于清理难度极大，几乎只能等石油慢慢散去。此次事件之后，受到石油污染的企鹅虽然得到了救助，但是在接下来的两个繁殖季，不论是企鹅崽的数量还是质量，都明显大不如前。据推测，这是因为工作人员在给企鹅清洗油污之前，它们就已经摄入有害油脂造成了生理损伤。
A major oil spill occurred near Phillip Island in Australia in the late 1990s. Following the incident, while the oil-affected penguins were rescued, there was a noticeable decline in both the number and health of penguin chicks in the following two breeding seasons. This could be attributed to the fact that the penguins had already suffered physiological damage from the oil before being cleaned by the staff.
因为当企鹅身上布满厚厚的油污，它们会试图梳理羽毛并清除上面的有毒油脂，而摄入这些油脂会带来致命的伤害。不仅如此，油污也对企鹅的羽毛本身造成了损伤，因为油污导致羽毛受损，企鹅的皮肤很可能直接暴露在寒冷的环境中。羽毛沾上油污后，防水能力和保温能力被破坏，且使得它们的身体变得笨重，游泳和行走都会变得困难。
When little penguins become oiled, they will try to preen and clean the toxic oil from their feathers, and ingesting it can kill them. It also damages their delicate feathers, which exposes their skin to extreme temperatures and they are left cold, heavy and unable to swim or hunt for food.
正常企鹅皮肤沾了油污后 图源：Vox
因此，澳大利亚菲利普自然公园的动物保护组织在全球范围内呼吁针织爱好者为企鹅们织毛衣。这些毛衣可以为需要清洗身体的企鹅们临时保暖，防止他们误食污油。
Therefore, the Penguin Foundation and Phillip Island Nature Parks have appealed to knitting enthusiasts worldwide to knit sweaters for the penguins. These sweaters are given to penguins in need of cleaning to provide temporary warmth and prevent them from ingesting the oil.
图源：Penguin Foundation官网
2001年，菲利普岛附近再次发生了重大石油泄漏事故，这次事故影响了438只小企鹅。但在企鹅基金会和这些爱心毛衣的帮助下，96%的企鹅都成功获救并在康复后回归野外。
438 little penguins were affected by the last major oil spill near Phillip Island in 2001. Of those, 96% were successfully saved with the help of penguin jumpers, the Phillip Island Wildlife Clinic released back into the wild.
图源：Penguin Foundation官网
据了解，这一项目启动了20余年，全世界的人们为这些小企鹅编织了超过20万件毛衣。这些小毛衣长度只有20厘米甚至更小，看起来非常可爱。有创造力的编织者还为它们设计了多种花样。
The penguin jumper program has been running for over 20 years. Over this time, generous knitters from across the globe have sent over 200,000 little penguin jumpers!
人造毛衣适不适合企鹅？
不过，动物穿上人类做的衣服，这个问题向来就充满争议。
在为企鹅织毛衣活动流行的时候，鸟类保护组织也质疑了这种行为。他们提出：这些企鹅都是野生动物，不该受到人类的影响。而毛衣可能会为他们身体增加额外的压力，甚至还有可能会让他们太热。穿毛衣对企鹅很可能是另一种危害。
对此，企鹅基金会表示，这种衣服只是临时的。在企鹅们的羽毛恢复正常之后，这些衣服就不会再用了。为了帮它们保暖，其实还可以采用加热灯。
Some also argue that these sweaters could potentially add extra pressure to the penguins' bodies, and might even cause them to overheat. The Penguin Foundation explained that knitted jumpers are temporarily placed on the penguins, acting as a barrier to prevent them from reaching their oily feathers with their beaks, before rescue staff are able to wash their bodies clean.
编织者也不能随心所欲。因为企鹅需要的毛衣必须是全羊毛打造，有固定的编织标准。在企鹅基金会收到的毛衣里，有不少毛衣就因为花样太过繁多、不符合穿戴标准，所以并不适合企鹅。
不过，这些企鹅套头衫被穿在了企鹅玩具的身上，通过出售穿着毛衣的企鹅玩偶，基金会为菲利普岛的野生动物筹集资金，这也许是保护企鹅的另一种方式。
图源：Penguin Foundation官网
The sweaters intended for penguins must be crafted from wool and adhere to specific knitting guidelines. As a result, numerous sweaters that fall short of the standards are repurposed for toy penguins. Funds are raised for the wildlife on Phillip Island through the sale of toy penguins sporting these sweaters.
编辑：黎霈融
来源：澎湃新闻 Penguin Foundation官网 无境深蓝