Odd Bird Out: No free ride home for penguin lost in New Zealand

[onedef92]

No free ride home for penguin lost in New Zealand

Posted: Jun 22, 2011 2:32 AM EDT
Updated: Jun 22, 2011 7:42 AM EDT

PEKA PEKA BEACH, New Zealand - There will be no free ride back to Antarctica for a young penguin who defied the odds by swimming all the way to New Zealand. The trip could spread infections, authorities say, and there's no way to transport the animal this time of year.

Wildlife officials said Wednesday they will let "nature take its course" after the Emperor penguin ended up on picturesque Peka Peka Beach on New Zealand's North Island - 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from Antarctic waters - in the country's first sighting of the bird in the wild in 44 years.

The penguin could have caught a disease by swimming through warmer climes, and wildlife officials would not want to be responsible for introducing illnesses into the insulated Antarctic penguin colony, said Peter Simpson, a program manager for New Zealand's Department of Conservation.

Then there are the logistics.

Right now, it is dark almost 24 hours a day in Antarctica. Virtually no one travels there this time of year, Simpson said, and even if they did, there would be no simple way to transport and cool a bird that stands almost three 3 feet (1 meter) high and is well insulated with fat.

Wildlife officials say the penguin has been eating wet sand, likely mistaking it for snow, and Simpson said its plight has sparked entreaties from around the world asking New Zealand to help the penguin get home since it was spotted by a resident on Monday.

"We are going to let nature take its course," he said. "It roamed here naturally. What is wrong with that?"

Simpson said he hopes the bird will find its own way back - particularly as it starts to become hungry. The penguin appears healthy and well fed, he added, and may not need another meal for several weeks.

The unusual bird attracted all sorts of attention at the beach Wednesday. School groups visited, television crews took footage, and onlookers snapped photos and even sketched it.

The penguin has been resting on the sand throughout the day but apparently has been taking to the water at night, Simpson said.

Experts don't know if the bird is a male or female - because the two sexes are almost indistinguishable among Emperor penguins.

The tallest and largest species of penguin, Emperors typically spend their entire lives in Antarctica. Their amazing journey to breeding grounds deep in the Antarctic was chronicled in the 2005 documentary "March of the Penguins," which highlighted their ability to survive - and breed - despite the region's brutal winter.

Christine Wilton was walking her dog Monday when she discovered the bird and called conservation authorities. She said it seemed a little more lethargic Wednesday than earlier in the week but was still alert and appeared unfazed by all the attention.

"It looks really grand when it stands up," she said. "I hope it stays safe, I really do, because it is just too precious."

Estimated to be about 10 months old, the penguin probably was born during the last Antarctic winter and may have been searching for squid and krill when it got lost, experts said.

Emperors can grow up to 4 feet (122 centimeters) tall and weigh more than 75 pounds (34 kilograms) . They can spend months at a time in the ocean. It's unclear how this one became disoriented, but it likely came ashore for a rest, said Colin Miskelly, a curator at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand.

It needs to find its way south to cooler waters if it is to survive. He said Emperor penguins can drink salt water, but eat snow in the winter to hydrate themselves.

The last confirmed sighting of a wild Emperor in New Zealand was in 1967 at the southern Oreti Beach, Simpson said.

[CP]

Boo

[DukeAllen]

Time for penguin burgers.

[Uncle Pervey]

Originally Posted by DukeAllen

Time for penguin burgers.

Wouldn't hold a candle to Cormorant!

[onedef92]

Originally Posted by Uncle Pervey

Wouldn't hold a candle to Cormorant!

That's right! You tell 'em UP!

[onedef92]

Stranded penguin moved to NZ zoo over health fears

Posted: Jun 23, 2011 10:25 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 24, 2011 8:15 AM EDT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - After planning to let nature take its course, wildlife officials moved a stranded Emperor penguin from a New Zealand beach to a zoo Friday after its health appeared to be worsening.

The young penguin had been eating sand and small sticks of driftwood, which it tried to regurgitate. First seen on a North Island beach Monday, the penguin appeared more lethargic as the week progressed, and officials feared it would die if they didn't intervene.

The rare venture north by an Antarctic species captured public imagination, and experts initially said the bird appeared healthy and well-fed and intervention was unnecessary.

They became concerned enough to step in Friday.

Three experts lifted the penguin from the beach into a tub of ice and then onto the back of a truck. The bird was docile, so they didn't sedate it for the 40-mile (65-kilometer) journey from Peka Peka Beach to the Wellington Zoo, said one of the helpers, Colin Miskelly, a curator at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand.

It made sense that a penguin might mistake sand for Antarctic snow, which Emperors eat for hydration, Miskelly said, but he had no explanation for the bird eating wood.

Miskelly said experts at the zoo were considering sedating the penguin and putting it on an intravenous drip as they tried to nurse it back to health. Ideally, the bird would heal enough that it could be released into the wild.

Miskelly noted no facilities in New Zealand were designed to house an Emperor penguin long-term. It's the tallest and largest penguin species and can grow up to 4 feet (122 centimeters) high and weigh more than 75 pounds (34 kilograms).

Christine Wilton, the local resident who discovered the penguin Monday while walking her dog, was back at the beach Friday to say goodbye.

"I'm so pleased it's going to be looked after," she said. "He needed to get off the beach. He did stand up this morning, but you could tell that he wasn't happy."

Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said veterinarians would give the bird a full health check. The zoo clinic has a salt water pool which has been used in the past to nurse smaller varieties of penguins, she said.

Often sick birds require rehabilitation for a month or two before being released, Baker said, adding that some creatures with severe injuries remain in captivity.

Experts believe the penguin is about 10 months old. It stands about 32 inches (80 centimeters) high. Experts haven't yet determined whether it is male or female.

Emperor penguins typically spend their entire lives in Antarctica, the coast of which is about 2,000 miles (3,200-kilometer) from the North Island beach where the penguin was stranded. It has been 44 years since an Emperor penguin was last spotted in New Zealand.

[onedef92]

Lost penguin more lively, eating fish post-surgery

Posted: Jun 27, 2011 4:01 AM EDT
Updated: Jun 27, 2011 7:31 AM EDT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand's favorite penguin visitor is more lively and eating fish after undergoing endoscopic surgery Monday to remove the beach sand and twigs it swallowed, apparently mistaking it for snow.

Full recovery for the young emperor penguin - affectionately dubbed Happy Feet - may take months, and officials are unsure when or how it could return home to the Antarctic, about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away.

The bird was recovering well after the an endoscopy performed by one of New Zealand's leading surgeons - for human patients.

Doctors at the Wellington Zoo guided a camera on a tube through the penguin's swollen intestines and flushed its stomach to remove the swallowed sand and pieces of driftwood. Penguins eat snow to hydrate themselves during the harsh Antarctic winter.

To ensure the health of its newest star, the zoo brought in Wellington Hospital specialist John Wyeth to help with the procedure, New Zealand Press Association reported.

Monday's surgery went well, and doctors removed about half of the remaining sand and several twigs from the bird's digestive system, zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said. Medical staff hope the rest of the debris will pass naturally, but an X-ray is scheduled for Wednesday.

"It's positive news, but he's definitely not out of the woods yet," Baker said.

The penguin is now dining on fish slurry and has been standing and appearing more active than when it arrived, Baker said. The bird was moved to the zoo Friday after its health worsened on the beach.

The penguin is being housed in a room at the zoo chilled to about 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius), Baker said, and has a bed of ice on which it can sleep.

Happy Feet, nicknamed from the 2006 animated movie, was discovered last week on a North Island beach, the first spotting of an emperor in New Zealand in 44 years. Emperors typically spend their entire lives around Antarctica.

After landing on Peka Peka Beach last week, the penguin appeared health at first, but it became dehydraded, suffered heat exhaustion and was eating large amounts of sand.

What's next for Happy Feet still remains to be decided.

Peter Simpson, the program manager of diversity for the Department of Conservation, said he is meeting with penguin experts Wednesday at the zoo to consider options. He said it's not simply a matter of tossing the penguin back into the ocean off New Zealand's coast.

"There's no great rush to decide," Simpson said. "It will most likely need more medical work over the next three months."

Simpson said the penguin will likely remain at the zoo for that time while it recovers.

Gareth Morgan, a New Zealand investment adviser, has offered to transport the penguin back to Antarctica next February when he leads an expedition to the southern continent. But Simpson said that, while officials appreciate the offer, they may want to act before then.

Simpson said the penguin may be older than experts first thought - perhaps up to 2 1/2 years old rather than the initial estimate of 10 months. It stands about 3 feet (80 centimeters) high.

Experts still don't know if it's a male or female, Simpson said, although DNA samples should soon provide an answer.