Salmon better than sand for Happy Feet

July 14, 2011

Veterinary surgeon Lisa Argilla examines an emperor penguin, nicknamed Happy Feet, at Wellington Zoo. Photo: Reuters

He may not be frolicking in the icy wilderness of the Antarctic, but at least he's tucking into some good quality salmon.
Happy Feet, the lost emperor penguin who turned up alone on a New Zealand beach almost a month ago, has been packing on the pounds since he was brought to Wellington Zoo amid fears he would die from eating sand.
The young bird has been feasting on up to two kilograms of high-grade salmon each day - funded through donations from the public and Wellington businessman Gareth Morgan, who chipped in with more than $NZ5000 ($3900).

 

'He is so soft' ... fan mail for Happy Feet, published on the Wellington Zoo's Facebook page.

"It's a bloody expensive bird, I can tell you that much," Dr Morgan told stuff.co.nz last week.
Happy Feet, whose stomach was pumped clean of sand, has certainly enjoyed his meals, and now weighs 24.6 kilograms, 2.6 kilograms heavier than when he was first rescued, zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said.
"He's getting stronger and stronger every day," Ms Baker told The New Zealand Herald.

 

 An X-ray image of Happy Feet's stomach. Photo: Getty Images/Pacific Radiology

"Actually, when the vet grabs him for medication or something, he's fighting a lot more. He's really looking good."
Happy Feet - nicknamed after an American-Australian animated movie about a lost penguin - was being kept in the dark to mimic the Antarctic weather, and lived in his own air-conditioned room, zoo staff said.
Staff were also cooling down the zoo's saltwater pool to provide the lonely bird with a watery playground.
"You can compare him in his enclosure to someone in hospital in terms of boredom," Ms Baker said.

Happy Feet first came to the attention of New Zealand authorities when he was spotted on June 20 by a woman walking her dog at Peka Peka Beach near the southern tip of the North Island.
The bird appeared to have taken a wrong turn while swimming near the Antarctica and ended up stranded on the beach - the first emperor penguin to turn up in New Zealand since 1967.
His plight attracted media attention from across the world and live video footage of his activities is being streamed online by New Zealand television station TV3.

Zoo staff were hoping to return Happy Feet to Antarctic waters after he recovered.
Peter Simpson of the Penguin Advisory Committee, which was set up to determine what to do with Happy Feet, said there weren't any confirmed plans at the moment.
"We are still gathering information on potential release sites, as well as working out how to transport the penguin from Wellington down to Bluff [on the South Island's southern coast].
"It's important that the penguin is properly fattened up for the trip. He needs to be completely ready to make the long swim home."

Mr Simpson, from New Zealand's Department of Conservation, said it might be up to a month before plans to transport the penguin were finalised.
A tracking device would be placed on Happy Feet, but he would be left to fend for himself once he was released, Mr Simpson added.
"It'll be up to him at that stage - whatever it does is whatever it does."

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