Lucas hasn’t had it so easy in life so far. Not because he’s a penguin living at the San Diego Zoo in California. But: Lucas was limping. Upright posture, confident demeanor – all this was difficult for him. Lucas stood there crookedly while his roommates confidently ran over large rocks in the penguin enclosure. Sometimes he lost his balance too. Zoo visitors recognized him from afar. He was the outsider.
Lucas has a foot disease called “Bumblefoot”. Since an infection in his back, the muscles in his feet are weak and he cannot stand on his toes properly. The nurses and vets gave him painkillers, physiotherapy, acupuncture, but nothing helped.
Now the nursing team had a new idea: orthopedic shoes for Lucas. A company developed a custom-made one made of rubber and neoprene to fit his feet. The shoes should give him support and prevent pressure points. The nurses helped him try on. He started running – and gained new self-confidence.
Since then, Lucas has received compliments. The keepers rave about his natural posture, his new gait, and the ease with which he now even walks over rocky spots in his enclosure. “What a sweetie!” someone wrote on Twitter of Lucas. Apparently the other penguins in the enclosure noticed that too. A zookeeper told CNN he saw Lucas with his new partner. Whether he won her over with his new shoes or his new self-confidence remains a secret.
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