NZPA
June 24, 2011
The condition of the crowd-drawing young emperor penguin who
turned up on a Kapiti Coast beach -- more than 3000km from its Antarctic
home -- appears to have deteriorated.
The penguin has become a great draw card, with hundreds of people visiting it this week on Peka Peka beach, 60km north of Wellington.
Overnight it appeared the penguin -- whose sex is unknown -- was now suffering as it was eating sand, in an apparent attempt to cool down, when it would normally eat snow, Radio New Zealand reported.
Department of Conservation programme manager Peter Simpson told the broadcaster the penguin was more listless and behaving strangely.
He would visit the bird today and vets would check its condition. In the worst case scenario, it could die.
"This thing is way outside -- not only physically but also environmentally -- its normal operating range of sub-zero temperatures. It's like being a very, very hot tropical climate and it doesn't have the mechanisms to deal with that."
To get to the Kapiti Coast, the penguin swam about 3200km.
DOC yesterday said it would not capture the bird and return it home, as it could have caught a disease by swimming through warmer climes.
DOC did not want to be responsible for introducing illnesses into the insulated Antarctic penguin colony.
Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter in Auckland houses sub-Antarctic King and Gentoo penguins, and is kept at about zero to 1degC, which could offer a cool respite for the emperor.
Kelly Tarlton's curator Andrew Christie today told NZPA he had spoken with DOC about what could be done with the bird.
"If something really goes wrong we would want to help out. We are working with DOC and Massey University and if they need help we will see what we can do."
However, for Kelly Tarlton's to take the penguin it would need to be kept isolated, which might not be the best thing for a wild bird, which was also a social animal.
"Our colonies are disease-free and we have to be cautious about what it would do to the status of our colony."
Mr Christie said it was difficult to say if the penguin was ill or not, as they often masked behaviour until it was too late.
Reports that it was eating sand needed to be looked at by an expert.
"They actually push their beaks into the ice to get up, so whether someone has seen that and speculated they are eating sand..."
Christchurch's International Antarctic Centre penguin keeper Mal Hackett told NZPA she though the penguin seemed lethargic when she observed it on TV this week.
She guessed the penguin swam to warmer waters because it was unwell.
Eating sand sounded like very strange behaviour, she said.
"I don't like his chances. It's is a very long way from home and isn't going to return."
The Antarctic Centre had little blue penguins, where their water was kept at 18degC, far too warm to house an emperor penguin.
Miss Hackett was not sure how an emperor penguin could legally be kept in captivity, and that would have to be investigated.
The penguin has become a great draw card, with hundreds of people visiting it this week on Peka Peka beach, 60km north of Wellington.
Overnight it appeared the penguin -- whose sex is unknown -- was now suffering as it was eating sand, in an apparent attempt to cool down, when it would normally eat snow, Radio New Zealand reported.
Department of Conservation programme manager Peter Simpson told the broadcaster the penguin was more listless and behaving strangely.
He would visit the bird today and vets would check its condition. In the worst case scenario, it could die.
"This thing is way outside -- not only physically but also environmentally -- its normal operating range of sub-zero temperatures. It's like being a very, very hot tropical climate and it doesn't have the mechanisms to deal with that."
To get to the Kapiti Coast, the penguin swam about 3200km.
DOC yesterday said it would not capture the bird and return it home, as it could have caught a disease by swimming through warmer climes.
DOC did not want to be responsible for introducing illnesses into the insulated Antarctic penguin colony.
Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter in Auckland houses sub-Antarctic King and Gentoo penguins, and is kept at about zero to 1degC, which could offer a cool respite for the emperor.
Kelly Tarlton's curator Andrew Christie today told NZPA he had spoken with DOC about what could be done with the bird.
"If something really goes wrong we would want to help out. We are working with DOC and Massey University and if they need help we will see what we can do."
However, for Kelly Tarlton's to take the penguin it would need to be kept isolated, which might not be the best thing for a wild bird, which was also a social animal.
"Our colonies are disease-free and we have to be cautious about what it would do to the status of our colony."
Mr Christie said it was difficult to say if the penguin was ill or not, as they often masked behaviour until it was too late.
Reports that it was eating sand needed to be looked at by an expert.
"They actually push their beaks into the ice to get up, so whether someone has seen that and speculated they are eating sand..."
Christchurch's International Antarctic Centre penguin keeper Mal Hackett told NZPA she though the penguin seemed lethargic when she observed it on TV this week.
She guessed the penguin swam to warmer waters because it was unwell.
Eating sand sounded like very strange behaviour, she said.
"I don't like his chances. It's is a very long way from home and isn't going to return."
The Antarctic Centre had little blue penguins, where their water was kept at 18degC, far too warm to house an emperor penguin.
Miss Hackett was not sure how an emperor penguin could legally be kept in captivity, and that would have to be investigated.
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