Penguin out of order

[Donna]

Archive for July, 2011
More Procedures For Happy Feet As He Mends
July 1, 2011

The Penguin Post has just learned that the emperor penguin dubbed Happy Feet is scheduled to have another operation tomorrow. Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said the penguin was in a “stable� condition and it was hoped that another stomach flushing procedure at 11am tomorrow would remove more sand and debris from its stomach in helping the penguin recover. After the surgery the zoo hoped to x-ray the bird to see if further surgery was needed, Baker said.

RELEASING HAPPY FEET

The specially formed Penguin Advisory Committee has decided the best option would be to release the penguin in the sub-Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. However, the Zoo’s veterinary science manager Lisa Argilla warned that even doing this would have its risks and Happy Feet would need to be taken some distance from land. “We don’t want to have visibility of the land mass. He’s a bit of a sand eater.� Although it was difficult to estimate how long it would take before Happy Feet was well enough to be released, Argilla said it was likely he would remain at Wellington Zoo for a month. The zoo would need to ensure it could keep up the supply of party ice, and might need to get a larger air conditioning unit. Recent cold weather meant it was easier to keep his small room cooler. A webcam linked up to the dark room where the penguin is being kept showed him moving around a little and standing up on the ice. Happy Feet is not on general display at the zoo.

[MAK]

   I feel so bad for what this poor penguin has gone through. They should put a transmitter on him so we know if he made back home. 

[Kris G.]

  I feel so bad for what this poor penguin has gone through. They should put a transmitter on him so we know if he made back home. 

On ABC World News a couple days ago, they said a tracking device was going to be placed on the Penguin! 

[MAK]

  I feel so bad for what this poor penguin has gone through. They should put a transmitter on him so we know if he made back home. 

On ABC World News a couple days ago, they said a tracking device was going to be placed on the Penguin! 

Excellent! 

[dale]

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It's a boy.
Results of DNA tests are back for the emperor penguin nicknamed "Happy Feet," whose plight has been followed around the world since he was found stranded on a New Zealand beach two weeks ago.
Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker says scientists determined the penguin's sex after scraping cells from his feathers.
Male and female emperor penguins outwardly appear identical.
Baker said Tuesday the penguin is recovering nicely after four medical procedures to flush sand and debris from his stomach. Happy Feet is now eating more than 4 pounds (2 kilograms) of salmon each day.
Emperor penguins typically live their entire lives in and around Antarctica, making Happy Feet's discovery in New Zealand so unusual.

[valhalla]

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It's a boy.
Results of DNA tests are back for the emperor penguin nicknamed "Happy Feet," whose plight has been followed around the world since he was found stranded on a New Zealand beach two weeks ago.
Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker says scientists determined the penguin's sex after scraping cells from his feathers.
Male and female emperor penguins outwardly appear identical.
Baker said Tuesday the penguin is recovering nicely after four medical procedures to flush sand and debris from his stomach. Happy Feet is now eating more than 4 pounds (2 kilograms) of salmon each day.
Emperor penguins typically live their entire lives in and around Antarctica, making Happy Feet's discovery in New Zealand so unusual.

Thanks for the update, Dale.  Glad this little guy is chowing down on some good fish, now that his belly is feeling better.      

[Donna]

Nice, thanks. Too bad he has to go it alone! 

[Donna]

Happy Feet Back to Eating Fish
July 6, 2011 by Eric Bennett

The Penguin Post has learned that recent celebrity penguin Happy Feet has ditched his demanding sand and twig diet in favor of Marlborough cuisine. That’s because New Zealand King Salmon has donated about 250 lbs of salmon smolt (juvenile fish) to Wellington Zoo to help restore the young Antarctic visitor to health. Happy Feet is eating up to 5 lbs of the fish a day. New Zealand King Salmon marketing manager Stephen Gibson said the company supplied Wellington Zoo with the salmon smolt when it was available and had doubled the contribution for the Antarctic interloper.  The wayward emperor penguin sparked international interest when he arrived at Peka Peka Beach, over 2000 miles from Antarctica, three weeks ago.  Unfortunately he mistakenly ate sand, mistaking it for ice, to cool down as well as twigs and rocks.  He has since had surgery at Wellington Zoo to remove the sand.  The penguin was back on the table on Saturday for his fourth procedure to flush more sand from his stomach. Veterinary science manager Lisa Argilla said undergoing general anaesthetics was unlikely to be tiring or stressful for Happy Feet, but he did need a rest between procedures. A specially formed Penguin Advisory Committee has decided the best option would be to release him in the sub-Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. However, Dr Argilla warned that even doing this would have its risks and Happy Feet would need to be taken some distance from land. “He’s a bit of a sand eater.â€� It was likely he would remain at the zoo for a month.

Tracking Happy Feet Home
July 7, 2011 by Eric Bennett

Happy Feet the wayward emperor penguin will take a piece of New Zealand with him when he travels home to Antarctica, and we’re not talking New Zealand beach sand or twigs.  The Penguin Post has learned that a New Zealand firm is producing and donating the tracking device that will record the penguin’s journey when he’s released.  Since Happy Feet went ill after swimming up onto a beach on New Zealand’s Kapiti Coast and began mistaking sand for a snow snack last month he’s been in the care for of the Wellington Zoo.   Sirtrack CEO Mike Kelly said the company offered to make a tracking device for the penguin because it was an unusual case and a way to help. “It’s really interesting. It’s not often you get to track an emperor penguin off our coast,â€� Mr Kelly said. “It’s a good way to demonstrate how our units work.â€� The company had previously made a tracker for Tarly the loggerhead turtle, which was found injured in Northland, NZ.  The turtle made it all the way to Chile before the tracker stopped working.

The device is not meant to be permanent, as it will fall off when Happy Feet moulted. “It’s taken several years to develop this type tracker and it’s now deployed all around the world,â€� Mr Kelly said. The company had offices in the US and distributors in Africa. They regularly worked with more than 70 countries supplying wildlife tracking devices for every kind of animal, from birds and reptiles to lions, tigers and bears. A wildlife expert would attach the device to the penguin, with guidance from Sirtrack, when Happy Feet is finally well enough to make the trip south, Mr Kelly said.  “Happy Feet has to meet all his health checks and that decision will rest with the experts at Wellington Zoo.â€�

[Donna]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10737634 More on Happy feet, story and some videos!

Feistier Happy Feet to move to saltwater pool

[Bobbie Ireland]

Good Boy!!!

[MAK]

 

[Wing Goose]

Happy Feet is larger than I thought!
A handsome one.
           
         Lola

[Shaky]

Happy Feet is larger than I thought!
A handsome one.
           
         Lola

[Donna]

He may not be frolicking in the icy wilderness of the Antarctic, but at least he's tucking into some good quality salmon.

Happy Feet, the lost emperor penguin who turned up alone on a New Zealand beach almost a month ago, has been packing on the pounds since he was brought to Wellington Zoo amid fears he would die from eating sand.

The young bird has been feasting on up to two kilograms of high-grade salmon each day - funded through donations from the public and Wellington businessman Gareth Morgan, who chipped in with more than $NZ5000 ($3900).

[Donna]

Paddling penguin

Happy Feet, the bewildered Emperor penguin who took a 2,000-mile wrong turn and ended up in New Zealand last month, is a boy. Didn't you just know it?

Wellington Zoo officials say DNA tests confirmed the suspicions.

Officials still haven't figured out how they're going to transport him back to the ocean near the Antarctic. In the meantime, he's getting fat and sassy at the zoo.

Now that his belly has been cleared of the sand and sticks he ate on the beach, he's feasting on more than 4 pounds of salmon every day, thanks to public donations.

Happy Feet has gained 6 pounds since he was rescued. And he's getting feisty.

"When the vet grabs him for medication ... he's fighting a lot more. He's really looking good," said zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker.