Rosie the penguin shows what some resilience can do

Second of two parts.

For weeks, the team at OdySea Aquarium had worried about a baby penguin with a disability. The parents could do no more, so the human caretakers stepped in.

They called her Rosie, after the resilient “Rosie the Riveter” and the can-do attitude of the team.

Rosie was six weeks old when they removed her from her nest, old enough to regulate her body temperature and take fish from animal care specialists. But she still hadn’t sat up or walked. The team brainstormed ideas.

They built a sling, using a tiny infant onesie and adjustable red straps. Attached to a PVC pipe frame, it held the penguin in a sitting position.

“We weren’t sure it was going to work,” Peranteau said.

The penguin breathed easier upright.

She spent longer in the sling each session. They raised it, so she’d put weight on her legs.

When she stood on her own, they held the sling like she was a marionette. She took a few tentative steps, her wings out for balance.

She tired quickly. Each session, she walked a little farther. At four months, it was time to learn to swim. Rosie loved the water, Peranteau said. Team members took her in, supporting her until she got the hang of it.

By May, Rosie could take short walks without the sling, stopping to look at the stingrays and octopus. Sometimes, she would tip over, rest a moment and get back up. Rosie didn’t quit, so the humans watching over her didn’t either.

At lunch, the team sat in a circle on the floor to eat with Rosie in the middle.

“In some sense, it was therapeutic for us, too,” Peranteau said. At a time when they were worried about the outside world, they focused on Rosie.

Rosie is 8 months old now, living in the penguin exhibit since June. Her gait is a little off, and she’s pigeon-toed.

But she walks on her own two feet, wings out for balance.