November 15, 2006They might not be suede, but these blue shoes are a perfect fit for "Elvis."
The newly shod bird, seen here, is one of 18 "second chance" little penguins now living at the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand. The penguins, also called blue or fairy penguins, were adopted from Marineland in Napier, New Zealand, which rescues sick or injured marine animals and sends some of those that can't return to the wild to live at regional animal centers.
But not long after their September arrival in Christchurch, a few penguins started to develop calluses on their feet that could have led to infections. Such calluses are common for penguins in captivity, because the seabirds, which normally spend most of their time fishing at sea, occasionally get lazy and spend too much time waddling on land.
So the center's staff began a rigorous treatment regime, including saltwater foot baths, ointment applications, and fashion footwear design. The special penguin shoesavailable in blue and GREenare tailored specifically for the little penguins and are made of breathable material with light rubber soles.
"We have seen a dramatic improvement," Benton said, "and [we] expect that they will only be wearing their pretty shoes for a very short time."
小企鹅穿新鞋
尽管不是用小羊皮做成的，但这双蓝色的鞋子对于小企鹅“埃尔维斯”来说却非常合适。
照片上，刚刚穿上新鞋的小企鹅“埃尔维斯”是现居住新西兰克赖斯特彻奇“国际南极中心”18只企鹅中的一只。这种企鹅也被称为“蓝企鹅” 或“神仙企鹅”，它们是从新西兰纳皮尔的海洋世界被收养来的，该机构主要负责营救生病或受伤的海洋生物，并将其中一些无法重返野生环境的动物送到一些地区性的动物救助饲养中心。
“埃尔维斯”和伙伴们是今年9月份到达克赖斯特彻奇“国际南极中心”的。来这里后不久，其中的一些企鹅便患上了“脚病”，并可能因此引发感染。对于圈养企鹅来说，这种脚病比较常见，因为在野生环境中，它们需要花费大量的时间在水中捕食，而圈养环境却让它们更多的在陆地上蹒跚而行。
对此，“国际南极中心”的工作人员展开了一系列的治疗工作，其中包括盐水足疗、涂抹药膏以及为企鹅设计鞋子等。这种特殊的鞋子有蓝色绿色两种，鞋面由透气材料制成，鞋底是则轻便的橡胶材料。
该中心的工作人员Benton对此表示：“我们已经见到了很大改善，这些小企鹅有望很快恢复健康。”
