posted June 24, 2011 04:52 PM            

An emperor penguin that took a wrong turn and ended up 2,000 miles from home in New Zealand is facing a grim future. After experts saw that Happy Feet — as the penguin has been nicknamed — wasn't moving very much, they moved it from Peka Peka beach to the Wellington Zoo.

As we've reported, Happy Feet is the first emperor penguin spotted in New Zealand since 1967. The New Zealand Herald reports that X-rays taken at the zoo revealed the penguin had a belly full of sand and that it was badly dehydrated. The paper talked to Wellington Zoo vet science manager Lisa Argilla

The zoo has Happy Feet on an intravenous drip. If the little guy makes it, said Argilla, the best they could do is release it as close to its home in Antartica as a plane or boat could get during winter.

posted June 27, 2011 10:09 AM            

It is feared that the bird might not survive after it ate sand, sticks and stones which are now clogging its stomach.

The penguin became ill after eating wet sand to keep cool, said surgeon John Wyeth.

Assisted by a six-person medical team, Dr Wyeth performed the two-hour endoscopy - using a special camera to try to see the extent of the problem of the Emperor penguin, nicknamed Happy Feet.
Dr Wyeth, head of gastro-enterology at Wellington Hospital, said: 'It was a memorable experience.
He admitted that it was much trickier carrying out the operation on a bird.
He said: 'If I did a similar procedure in a human it would take me ten minutes.'
Dr Wyeth criticised suggestions that if the penguin could not survive in New Zealand, then nature should be allowed to take its course.
He added: 'I think the important thing in this world is humanity and caring and if we don't show that, it doesn't reflect very well on our society.'
Miss Lisa Argilla, veterinary manager at Wellington Zoo, said the ten-month-old bird appeared to have had a successful surgery.

She said: 'The bird is being kept in an air-conditioned room which has been carpeted with crushed ice to keep it cool in the relative warmth of New Zealand.

'But he's still not out of the woods.'

Happy Feet washed up on the New Zealand beach after taking a wrong turn in Antarctica.
The penguin cannot be flown back because the continent is in the middle of winter and engulfed in 24 hour darkness.
Miss Argilla added: 'If it can be nursed back to health, the best option may be to release Happy Feet into sub-Antarctic waters south of New Zealand and from there it might be able to swim home.'
The penguin needs time to build up its strength as it is now underweight following the long swim - which would have taken it up to two months.
Miss Argilla said staff at Wellington Zoo have become fond of Happy Feet and were pleased by the level of international interest.
'It's really awesome to see that we've pretty much got the world behind us - it's a little bit of pressure but we're doing our best.'

posted August 29, 2011 01:40 PM            

..A wayward penguin that became a worldwide celebrity after washing up lost on a New Zealand beach left Wellington on Monday aboard a research ship bound for his frigid home waters in Antarctica.

The giant bird, dubbed Happy Feet, set sail on the New Zealand fisheries vessel Tangaroa in a custom-made insulated crate with his own veterinary team in attendance and a contingent of media to bid him farewell at the dock.

The relatively quiet departure was in contrast to the scenes at Wellington Zoo on Sunday, when thousands of well-wishers turned out to bid him farewell at the animal hospital where he has spent two months recuperating.

Happy Feet was found on a beach just outside Wellington in mid-June -- weak, emaciated and more than 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) from the Antarctic colony where he hatched about three-and-a-half years ago.

Only the second emperor penguin ever recorded in New Zealand, he was close to death and needed surgery to remove sand and sticks from his stomach before he could be fattened up on a diet of fish milkshakes.

The bird, which now weighs about 27.5 kilograms (60.5 pounds), attracted international attention during New Zealand sojourn and there are plans for a book and documentary recounting his story.

The juvenile male will be released into the Southern Ocean four days into the Tangaroa's voyage, where the hope is he will rejoin other emperor penguins and eventually make his way back to Antarctica.

Wellington Zoo's veterinary manager Lisa Argilla said she was nervous but excited about Happy Feet's return to the wild and had grown fond of the bird during his stay.

"There's always apprehension because you do get attached to them but it's very exciting," she told TVNZ Monday.

"It's one of the favourite parts of my job, when you can rehabilitate them, so I'm actually looking forward to it."

Argilla, assisted by two staff from the research vessel, will look after the penguin before he is lowered into the icy Southern Ocean, and she will then spend another three weeks aboard the Tangaroa before it returns to Wellington.

She told AFP last week that she expected the penguin to handle the notoriously rough seas better than her.

"I get very seasick... he won't mind about 10-metre (33-foot) swells, this guy's used to harsh conditions," she said.

"He'll probably be pretty excited actually and just dive away and that'll be the last we see of him.

"He'll hopefully bump into some penguins that he recognises, fingers crossed. Otherwise, he'll just go and probably establish himself in another colony."

Attendances at Wellington Zoo almost doubled during Happy Feet's stay, even though he was rarely on display. His fans include New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and actor Stephen Fry, who is in Wellington to film "The Hobbit".

For those suffering Happy Feet withdrawal, the bird will be fitted with a GPS tracker so researchers and the public can monitor his progress in the wild at www.wellingtonzoo.com.

..A wayward penguin that became a worldwide celebrity after washing up lost on a New Zealand beach left Wellington on Monday aboard a research ship bound for his frigid home waters in Antarctica.

The giant bird, dubbed Happy Feet, set sail on the New Zealand fisheries vessel Tangaroa in a custom-made insulated crate with his own veterinary team in attendance and a contingent of media to bid him farewell at the dock.

The relatively quiet departure was in contrast to the scenes at Wellington Zoo on Sunday, when thousands of well-wishers turned out to bid him farewell at the animal hospital where he has spent two months recuperating.

Happy Feet was found on a beach just outside Wellington in mid-June -- weak, emaciated and more than 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) from the Antarctic colony where he hatched about three-and-a-half years ago.

Only the second emperor penguin ever recorded in New Zealand, he was close to death and needed surgery to remove sand and sticks from his stomach before he could be fattened up on a diet of fish milkshakes.

The bird, which now weighs about 27.5 kilograms (60.5 pounds), attracted international attention during New Zealand sojourn and there are plans for a book and documentary recounting his story.

The juvenile male will be released into the Southern Ocean four days into the Tangaroa's voyage, where the hope is he will rejoin other emperor penguins and eventually make his way back to Antarctica.

Wellington Zoo's veterinary manager Lisa Argilla said she was nervous but excited about Happy Feet's return to the wild and had grown fond of the bird during his stay.

"There's always apprehension because you do get attached to them but it's very exciting," she told TVNZ Monday.

"It's one of the favourite parts of my job, when you can rehabilitate them, so I'm actually looking forward to it."

Argilla, assisted by two staff from the research vessel, will look after the penguin before he is lowered into the icy Southern Ocean, and she will then spend another three weeks aboard the Tangaroa before it returns to Wellington.

She told AFP last week that she expected the penguin to handle the notoriously rough seas better than her.

"I get very seasick... he won't mind about 10-metre (33-foot) swells, this guy's used to harsh conditions," she said.

"He'll probably be pretty excited actually and just dive away and that'll be the last we see of him.

"He'll hopefully bump into some penguins that he recognises, fingers crossed. Otherwise, he'll just go and probably establish himself in another colony."

Attendances at Wellington Zoo almost doubled during Happy Feet's stay, even though he was rarely on display. His fans include New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and actor Stephen Fry, who is in Wellington to film "The Hobbit".

For those suffering Happy Feet withdrawal, the bird will be fitted with a GPS tracker so researchers and the public can monitor his progress in the wild at www.wellingtonzoo.com.