Update: Emperor Penguin 'recovered' after surgery
30th August 2011
The young emperor penguin found lost on New Zealand's Peka Peka Beach has started his long trip home
Update
Happy Feet started his long journey home yesterday, aboard the Tangaroa research vessel.
Vets have placed him in a custom-made crate for his four day journey on the ship, with 60 buckets of ice to keep him cool, before being released near Campbell Island.
It is hoped that Happy Feet will swim the 1,250 miles back to Antarctica, as the Antarctic Treaty states that no bird can be taken into Antarctica.
Lisa Argilla, a vet, said he now has a "stronger and stroppier attitude" than when he was found. "He’s definitely a survivor," she said.
The one-year-old has put on 18lb at Wellington Zoo in the past two months, after having 7lb of sand removed from his stomach.
Happy Feet has been fitted with a satellite transmitter which will send signals to satellites twice a day for three hours, allowing everyone to follow him on his travels.
Go to www.nzemperor.com to follow his movements.
19th August
The adult male penguin, 'Happy Feet' has restored to full health and will hitch a ride with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) ship Tangaroa on August 29.
The ship, which will be carrying out research on Southern Ocean Fisheries, will release the bird four days into the trip near Campbell Island.
Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield said, "This is an excellent result for everyone involved, and for the penguin, and is a great example of organisations working together for the best outcome."
The hope is that Happy Feet will swim the 1,250 miles back to Antarctica where Emperor penguins live in colonies ranging in size from a few hundred to more than 20,000 pairs.
1st August
The Penguin, named 'Happy Feet' after the 2006 film, has recovered from an endoscopy in an air-conditioned room, complete with ice blocks, in Wellington zoo.
Zoo spokesman Kate Baker said the penguin had gained about nine pounds and this week passed an X-ray and blood test. She said the penguin will likely be released offshore from the south end of the country sometime in the next few weeks.
After being found 3,000 km from its Antarctic home on New Zealand's North Island, the penguin had to have an operation to remove sand from its stomach, after apparently mistaking it for snow which penguins eat to hydrate themselves in winter.
Initial plans to take the bird back to Antarctica were dismissed due to The Antarctic Treaty, which states that no living bird is allowed to be taken into Antarctica.
Further plans to help the penguin on its way have also been rejected after an advisory group convened by the Department of Conservation said the bird should be released into the Southern Ocean, south-east of New Zealand.
Peter Simpson, a program manager for the department said,"We are going to let nature take its course, it roamed here naturally.”
Kate Baker said, "The plan is to let him rest, feed him and x-ray him again to see how much sand has passed." She added that the penguin will likely be released offshore from the south end of the country sometime in the next few weeks.
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