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Penguin travel; What to do with this traveller?
Topic Started: Jun 23 2011, 02:40 AM (888 Views)
angora
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A 10 month old penguin swims from Antarctica to New Zealand. Good news or bad?

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1012970--penguin-stranded-in-new-zealand-must-make-its-own-way-home?bn=1
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Kahu
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Penguins in New Zealand

We have a lot of different species of penguins around our coasts ..... some which live close to humans.

The young penguin that arrived on the Kapiti coast is a juvenile Emperor Penguin ...... that should be huddled together with all his family (except females) on the ice in the dark winter of Antarctica. The females are out foraging for food during this season, returning to the ice later, to regurgitate the food for the hatched chicks. It hasn't been established that the young arrival is female yet.
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angora
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Thanks for the info Kahu. Do you think this young Emperor penguin might find a home in NZ?
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Kahu
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I doubt that very much Angora ..... this bird is quite tall nearly a metre, and its got a thick layer of insulating fat .... and the temperature here is probably too warm for it. Apparently its snapping up beakfuls of sand (possibly thinks its snow) to rehydrate itself. Penguins do have a very nervous disposition and of course they're not used to dogs or humans for that matter ..... they also need their sociable crowd around them. (eg March of the Penguins - Happy Feet). If it doesn't take off to feed itself then I think its days are numbered. The island in the background of your link is Kapiti which is one of our island lifeboats for endangered species ..... and Peka Peka beach is a nudist beach.
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Kahu
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I see in a newspaper this morning there is now a security watch to make sure he/she is not hastled, and vehicular access to the beach has been closed.
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Kahu
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It appears the penguin is suffering too much with heat exhaustion and is being moved to Wellington Zoo.

Conservation Department staff and penguin specialists have taken Happy Feet from Peka Peka beach and are transporting him to Wellington Zoo in a chilled box.

DOC biodiversity manager Peter Simpson said veterinarians and Massey University penguin specialists had decided to move the emperor penguin after his condition deteriorated.
A cordon had earlier been put up around the penguin keeping people about 40m away.
The juvenile emperor penguin, which stands about a metre tall and weighs about 10 kilograms, was first spotted on Peka Peka Beach on Monday afternoon.

Emperor Penguin rescue

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Kahu
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50% Chance for survival .... link
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angora
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Thanks for all this, Kahu. I'm so glad something is being attempted for the poor, stupid thing. I have no sense of direction either. :)
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imjene
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I think it is humane to try and save this poor thing, but might it not be more kind to put it down? Even if it goes to a zoo, it will not have the companionship it needs, and they will have to keep freezing ice for it to sit on. I'm sure it would not be happy!
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Kahu
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imjene
Jun 25 2011, 04:19 AM
......, but might it not be more kind to put it down? Even if it goes to a zoo, it will not have the companionship it needs, and they will have to keep freezing ice for it to sit on. .......
I'm inclined to agree with you on that score Imjene. The problem is there are no flights south, or ships heading into that zone either. Remember it's midwinter with total darkness with atrocious weather conditions.

The young emperor penguin rescued from a Kapiti Coast beach has survived the night, following a harrowing four-hour operation to clear sand from his airway yesterday.
Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said the penguin, dubbed Happy Feet, had been eating ice overnight and had "passed some sand" this morning.
He will now undergo a second procedure at 11am to remove some more sand from his stomach.
Last night Happy Feet was given only a 50 per cent chance of survival by his vets, who removed sand blocking his oesophagus. X-rays have revealed his stomach is full of it, and it remains a grave danger.

The operation was the first hurdle in the attempt to save the penguin, whose plight has captured local and international attention.

Source Link - Happy Feet




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Kahu
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Happy Feet heading home at end of month
2:54 PM Wednesday Aug 17, 2011


The emperor penguin who became world famous when he washed up on a Kapiti Coast beach in June will return home at the end of this month.

Wellington Zoo and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research (Niwa) today announced Happy Feet would be shipped out to sea on Niwa's research vessel Tangaroa on August 29.

Happy Feet, who has lived at Wellington Zoo since he was found on Peka Peka beach, would be released in the Southern Ocean four days into the ship's month-long trip to the Campbell Islands, 700km south of New Zealand.

Source Link

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angora
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That's wonderful! Good luck to him. Thanks for the update, Kahu.
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Bless his little heart.......safe journey. wub
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Kahu
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I went to see him at the Zoo a couple of weeks back with DDs and grandsons ....... on 'Winter Wednesday' when they only charged $5 adult admission .... rather than the usual $20.
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Kahu
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Happy Feet is on his way home!

Farewell Party for Happy Feet ....... Haere Ra!

After about NZ$87 000 worth of care and attention ........

Happy Feet is on his way home after being nursed back to health and capturing hearts around the world.
The emperor penguin waddled from his refrigerated enclosure into a large cage with only a little coaxing about 2pm this afternoon.
He was then whisked from Wellington Zoo on the back of a ute to Shelly Bay Wharf, Miramar, before being transferred into an insulated crate onboard the NIWA ship Tangaroa.
Wellington Zoo vet services manager Lisa Argilla, who has taken care of Happy Feet from the start, looked a bit emotional, and told reporters she was feeling "a bit nervous".
Unlike his much-publicised arrival and stay at the zoo, his farewell today was a low key affair, apart from circling media.
Only a couple of dozen people were on hand to catch one last glimpse of the penguin before he was taken from the zoo.
His journey to the sub-antarctic is expected to take 4 days, and he will be tracked via a GPS tag once he is released.

Edited by Kahu, Aug 30 2011, 12:34 AM.
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