A group of baby penguins are being cared for by surrogate parents.

Sometimes you need a helping hand to have the best possible start. That's what's happening with five baby Humboldt penguins at the ZSL London Zoo in England.

Zookeepers have stepped in to help care for the newest inhabitants of the zoo's Penguin Beach after it was discovered their parents were struggling a little. The keepers have become the penguins' parents, hand-rearing the little penguins in the zoo's nursery.

"During the breeding season, we check the nests on Penguin Beach every day, keeping an eye out for any chicks who might not be feeding enough or whose parents are struggling to care for their brood," ZSL London Zoo penguin keeper Suzi Hyde explained in a statement from the zoo.

"These five chicks all had first-time parents who needed a little bit of extra support, so we were happy to swoop in—with a little help from a few soft toy penguins, donated by the zoo shop, for them to snuggle up to." Baby animals usually have a parent to snuggle up to and penguin babies depend on their parents for their survival. Both penguin parents are responsible for the care and feeding of the babies. Adult penguins recognize their babies by their distinct call. The ZSL zookeepers are currently caring for the babies by feeding them round-the-clock. But humans can't snuggle like their penguin equivalents. Enter the stuffed animals.All of the little penguins were born between April 14 and 24 and have been living under warming lamps with their stuffed surrogate parent in the center. Currently, they're being fed something called a "penguin milkshake," which is a mix of blended fish, minerals and vitamins. It mimics the food that is regurgitated to the babies from their parents. The zoo recently shared a video of the babies in their little incubator bowls during their daily weigh-ins and it's clear they're growing stronger every day. "The chicks have all steadily increased in weight by ten percent each day, so they're growing very quickly," Suzi Hyde said. "They're always eager for their next meal and make sure we know it's feeding time — they may be only a month old, but they've definitely perfected their squawk!"Login • Instagram See on Instagram Four of the baby penguins are girls and there is one boy. Because they're inhabitants of London Zoo, the zookeepers thought it would be great to honor Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee by naming each of them after different prominent moments in her 70-year reign as monarch. There's Hillary, named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the first British person to scale Mount Everest; Bobby, who honors soccer player Bobby Moore leading to a World Cup win in 1966; Apollo, after the moon landing in 1969; Mac, named after Ellen MacArthur, who set a record in 2006 for a nonstop sail around the world; and Bernie, after the creator of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee. Currently, the penguins are covered in soft gray feathers that aren't waterproof, so they can't really do much. In another month or so, when they're around 10 weeks old, they will be moved to the zoo's nursery pool and begin swimming lessons. Once they have their waterproof feathers, they'll join the 62 other Humboldt penguins in the Penguin Beach exhibit.

"These five chicks all had first-time parents who needed a little bit of extra support, so we were happy to swoop in—with a little help from a few soft toy penguins, donated by the zoo shop, for them to snuggle up to."

Baby animals usually have a parent to snuggle up to and penguin babies depend on their parents for their survival. Both penguin parents are responsible for the care and feeding of the babies. Adult penguins recognize their babies by their distinct call. The ZSL zookeepers are currently caring for the babies by feeding them round-the-clock. But humans can't snuggle like their penguin equivalents. Enter the stuffed animals.

All of the little penguins were born between April 14 and 24 and have been living under warming lamps with their stuffed surrogate parent in the center. Currently, they're being fed something called a "penguin milkshake," which is a mix of blended fish, minerals and vitamins. It mimics the food that is regurgitated to the babies from their parents.

The zoo recently shared a video of the babies in their little incubator bowls during their daily weigh-ins and it's clear they're growing stronger every day.

"The chicks have all steadily increased in weight by ten percent each day, so they're growing very quickly," Suzi Hyde said. "They're always eager for their next meal and make sure we know it's feeding time — they may be only a month old, but they've definitely perfected their squawk!"

Four of the baby penguins are girls and there is one boy. Because they're inhabitants of London Zoo, the zookeepers thought it would be great to honor Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee by naming each of them after different prominent moments in her 70-year reign as monarch. There's Hillary, named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the first British person to scale Mount Everest; Bobby, who honors soccer player Bobby Moore leading to a World Cup win in 1966; Apollo, after the moon landing in 1969; Mac, named after Ellen MacArthur, who set a record in 2006 for a nonstop sail around the world; and Bernie, after the creator of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee.

Get your strut on, beautiful little man.

Penguin shows off new shoes at the zoo.

Look out San Diego, a penguin has found his waddle and it's adorable. Lucas, a 4-year-old African penguin who lives at San Diego Zoo, was recently fitted for prosthetics to help him walk properly. If you're surprised to hear that Africa has penguins, yes, it's true and they're just as adorable as the ones from Antartica.

This particular penguin was born with a condition called bumblefoot, which causes ulcers to form on its feet and can result in sepsis and death. Who knew a condition that sounded so cute could be so cruel? Bumblefoot is a chronic condition and can cause the penguin to not be able to walk properly. The condition doesn't just affect penguins, but it does seem to be more prevalent in penguins that live in captivity than those in the wild. Thankfully for Lucas, he's got some new shoes to show his little penguin friends. The permanent tuxedo wearing bird was gifted a pair of custom orthopedic shoes made out of neoprene and rubber, according to the zoo.

Lucas' special shoes were made by Thera-Paw, an organization that designs custom orthotics and products for animals that have special needs. San Diego Zoo vet Dr. Beth Bicknese explained in a press release, “The boots are cushioned and Velcroed in place, so they will help Lucas to fully participate in the colony and showcase behaviors that are more typical for a penguin—such as climbing the rocks, swimming, nesting and finding a suitable mate.”

Lucas started having problems with his feet after a spinal infection left him unable to stand properly, which put pressure on his ankles and legs and caused sores to form. The little guy got the full spectrum of treatments, including acupuncture, before the zoo turned to prosthetics. Amazingly, immediately after putting his new penguin shoes on, he had an improved posture. Debbie Denton, senior wildlife care specialist at San Diego Zoo, said in the press release, “We were pleasantly surprised at the immediate change in Lucas after we fitted him with his new boots. Seeing him move about now gives us hope that he may be OK going forward, and able to live a full life.”

The zoo, according to its press release, participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP) program. African penguins are currently endangered. The penguins made the endangered species list for a variety of reasons, including climate change and overfishing. But San Diego Zoo is doing its part for penguins like Lucas to allow them to not only survive but to thrive.

Lucas is probably strutting around his enclosure with his new shoes, climbing all of the rocks his heart desires. Maybe one day there will be a children's book about a penguin who had to get new shoes. Whether the story of Lucas turns into a book or not, Thera-paw is clearly making a difference in these animals' quality of life.

Ilaria Borghese, founder and president of Thera-paw, noted in the press release, “Over the years, we’ve tackled challenging cases like Lucas’s, and each is special and memorable. One thing that never gets old is seeing an animal’s life dramatically improve after using one of our aids. It inspires and drives us every day.”

All Uber and Lyft drivers should have a ride options menu.

Cameron the creative Lyft driver offers a variety of ride options to his passengers.

This article originally appeared on 04.21.22

Have you ever ridden in an Uber or a Lyft and had the driver talk a lot when you felt like being quiet? Or not say a word when you tried to make conversation? Or play music you found annoying?

When you hop into a driver's car, it's a crapshoot what kind of ride you're going to have. But at least one Lyft driver is removing the mystery a bit by letting passengers choose.

Facebook user Eric Alper shared a post that showed a photo of a piece of paper stuck on the back of a car's headrest that read:

"Welcome to Cameron's car!!!

To ensure the best ride possible for you, I have prepared a menu of the various types of rides I offer. Just choose one (or don't, that's an option too) then sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. :)"

Then it listed the 10 ride options Cameron offers:

"1. The Awkward Ride - You ignore this menu completely, then we will sit in silence for the remainder of the ride.

2. The Funny Ride - I tell you jokes or entertaining stories from my life.

4. The Creepy Ride - I don't say anything but I keep staring at you in the rearview mirror.

5. The Karaoke Ride - We rock out to hits from the 80s, early 2000s or literally whatever you want.

6. The Bubbles Ride - We blow bubbles the whole time.

7. The Small Talk Ride - We talk about how crazy the weather's been lately and I ask if you caught the game last night.

8. The Therapy Ride - You vent to me about your problems and I listen.

9. The Drunk Ride - You throw up in my car.

10. The Cliche Ride - You ask me how long I've been driving for Lyft."

OK, the Bubbles Ride sounds fun, but also maybe a little dangerous. And the Drunk Ride is the main reason I've never wanted to be a Lyft or Uber driver. I may have unintentionally taken a both a Therapy Ride and a Creepy Ride before.

But seriously, the concept is fabulous. People often want something different in a ride depending on their mood, so the idea of having options to choose from is brilliant. The list also directly addresses the awkwardness that is often present when you're getting a ride from someone, so it makes a natural icebreaker and conversation starter—particularly helpful for folks who struggle with social anxiety.

People in the comments loved it.

"I'm sure this wasn't the intention but this is a great example of disability accommodations that everyone can enjoy," wrote one person. "Being able to choose how much energy I expend is so helpful."

"There should be a feature on both Uber and Lyft indicating what type of ride a rider wants or expects," wrote another. "I usually don't talk, but sometimes the driver keeps persisting and I feel awkward at times."

"It clears the air, takes the awkwardness out of it, and establishes expectations for the ride, on both sides," wrote another. "Great idea."

There are some more options I'd love to see added, though:

The Pep Talk Ride - You need encouragement? I'll give you everything I've got to pump you up.

The Tour Guide Ride - I share interesting details about places we pass and offer advice on cool things to do around the area.

The Life Story Ride - We estimate how long your ride will be, set a timer, and each of us shares our life story for half the ride. (No questions, unless the ride goes longer.)

The Deep Questions Ride - We skip the small talk and get right to the big stuff—meaning of life, existence of God, our place in the universe, etc.

The High School Debate Ride - We pick a controversy, flip a coin to decide who will take which side, and debate regardless of our own personal views.

The Pretend Persona Ride - We each make up totally fake names and personas and converse as them so we can chat without actually getting personal at all.

So many possibilities. What kind of ride would you want to take?