You are in:
Teva comes to penguin’s aid
Adventure footwear brand supplies special shoes to impaired penguin to allow it to move normally
Teva has supplied Santa Barbara Zoo with a special shoe for one of its penguins, which was suffering with an impaired foot that inhibited its movement.
Lucky the penguin was exhibiting a shuffling gait and was getting sores on his feet after putting pressure on the wrong parts, which vets at the US zoo were treating by wrapping and padding his heels.
“We remembered that years ago, Teva had fashioned a special shoe for an elephant with foot issues in San Antonio,” said Santa Barbara Zoo chief executive officer Rich Block.
“Teva’s headquarters is located just a few miles from our zoo and we thought, if they can make a big elephant boot, they may be able to make a little penguin one.”
Teva's design team measured Lucky’s leg and foot and casts were made and worked to design a shoe that was lightweight, provided traction and easily shed water.
There were several versions of the shoe, each one improving on the previous version with different materials, waterproof fabrics and designs. The Teva team even worked with their suppliers on Lucky’s shoe, which features technologies used in Teva's footwear collection. For instance, an ion-mask nano-coating helps Lucky’s foot stay dry and a Spider Rubber + JStep steadies his footing as he goes in and out of the water.
Teva has committed to providing shoes for Lucky for his entire lifespan. The shoes are changed daily so they can be washed.
Teva president Pete Worley said: “Our product team is experienced at collaborating with athletes, and while Lucky’s challenge was certainly unique to us, his needs were not dissimilar to those of any world class kayaker or trail runner.
“We went through a bit more trial and error due to the language barrier, but Lucky knew what he was looking for in performance footwear, and he let us know when we had it right. In Lucky, we found a new friend and the perfect Teva athlete.”
