NZ zoo takes in penguin that mistook sand for snow

[xchrom]

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/06/25/nz-zoo-takes-penguin-mistook-sand-snow.html

This is one homesick penguin, stranded on a New Zealand beach 2,000 miles from Antarctica and eating sand it mistook for snow.

Wildlife officials stepped in Friday and moved the ailing young bird to a zoo. On Saturday it was on an intravenous drip and recovering from two medical procedures designed to flush sand from its throat and stomach.

The emperor penguin appeared healthy when it was first spotted last Monday on picturesque Peka Peka Beach on New Zealand's North Island - the country's first sighting of the species in the wild in 44 years.

But it grew more lethargic as the week passed, falling weakly into the wet sand at times, and officials feared it would die if they didn't intervene.

"It's not going to survive here on the beach if we left it here," said Peter Simpson, a program manager for New Zealand's Department of Conservation. "There's too much public pressure. It's just out in the open."

[Rhiannon12866]

1. Oh, poor thing... ;(

So glad to hear that he was rescued! :)

[xchrom]

2. they're gonna take him or her home.

i'm trying to find the article on it now.

[xchrom]

3. Ill penguin stranded in NZ is offered a lift home

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/06/24/international/i002748D75.DTL

(06-25) 03:35 PDT WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) --

A young emperor penguin stranded in New Zealand has survived two medical procedures and now has an offer of a lift home.

Yet the aquatic bird that many are calling Happy Feet — after the lighthearted 2006 movie — is not out of danger yet. The penguin remained on an intravenous drip Saturday and faces another procedure Monday to remove more sand from its digestive system.

If it does pull through, a businessman wants to take it by boat to Antarctica next February.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/06/24/international/i002748D75.DTL#ixzz1QHkFtGjL

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Thanks so much for posting this! Sounds like really good news...

I just hope that the poor little thing gets well. Sounds like s/he's had an awful time. :(

Wishing him/her a speedy recovery and a safe journey home... :hi:

[liberalla]

4. "The weakened bird did not need to be sedated for the ride."

The poor bird was in such bad shape people were able to handle him and prepare him for transfer (40 miles) to the zoo, without sedation.

excerpts:

"For the 40-mile (65-kilometer) journey to the zoo, the 32-inch (81-centimeter) penguin was lifted into a tub of ice and then onto the back of a truck. The weakened bird did not need to be sedated for the ride."


"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 haven't yet determined whether it is male or female.

"He's a young bird that's out swimming and foraging and doing what he's supposed to do. He just made a wrong turn someplace," said Lauren DuBois, assistant curator of birds at SeaWorld in San Diego, which has the only colony of emperor penguins in North America. Thirty birds live there in a 25-degree (-4-Celsius) habitat that simulates Antarctica, with up to 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms) of snow blown in every day."

I hope this little guy makes it and has a future.


***

edit for video link! msnbc video of the penguin on the beach. He's showing signs of distress, and also getting him in the ice tub for travel.

Just 25 seconds to watch.

[liberalla]

6. I forgot to include the video link! Duh!

Wayward penguin sick, mistaking sand for snow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPU_HATdgs8&NR=1

[marmar]

7. I hope he can be saved. I'm shocked it survived a 2,000-mile journey.

nt

[Judi Lynn]

8. Ill penguin stranded in NZ is offered a lift home

Ill penguin stranded in NZ is offered a lift home
By NICK PERRY
updated 6/25/2011 6:57:53 AM ET 2011-06-25T10:57:53

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A young emperor penguin stranded in New Zealand has survived two medical procedures and now has an offer of a lift home.

Yet the aquatic bird that many are calling Happy Feet — after the lighthearted 2006 movie — is not out of danger yet. The penguin remained on an intravenous drip Saturday and faces another procedure Monday to remove more sand from its digestive system.

If it does pull through, a businessman wants to take it by boat to Antarctica next February.

Happy Feet arrived on Peka Peka Beach, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Wellington, last Monday, the first time in 44 years that an emperor penguin has been spotted in the wild in New Zealand. Typically, emperors spend their entire lives in and around Antarctica.

More:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43534006/ns/us_news-environment/