Published: Friday, July 01, 2011
Experts
say the young emperor penguin that showed up last month in New Zealand
likely was searching for squid or krill as it swam 2,000 miles from its
Antarctic home."Hate the name they gave me. 'Happy Feet'? They're totally going to tease me back at the colony."
Yes, the avian world's newest celebrity, the Emperor penguin that showed up last month in New Zealand, 2,000 miles from its Antarctica home, appears to have wrapped its flippers around social networking with a Twitter account and a Facebook page.
"With a long recovery ahead," his Twitter profile explains, "I'm trying to keep my sanity by tweeting."
The bird was discovered June 20 on a picturesque North Island beach. It was the first time in 44 years Kiwis had spotted an emperor penguin on their shores, and though he'd clearly traveled far, the 32-inch tall bird, weighing around 22 pounds, looked robust.
As days passed, though, he grew lethargic. Authorities lifted him into a tub of ice and trucked him to the Wellington Zoo, where he has endured several endoscopic procedures to extract sand and driftwood from his gut.
"Not to be ungrateful or anything, but I hate how the staff here takes my temperature."
The Facebook page dedicated to the beast is labeled "Fly the Emperor Penguin Back to Antarctica," which is easier said than done. Transportation to the ice-encrusted continent is impossible during Antarctic winter. A New Zealand investment manager offered to give the bird a lift home aboard a Russian icebreaker, but not until February, when his expedition departs.
Plus, the penguin's recovery remains uncertain. So, recuperating and clearly bored with "ER" reruns, he tweets.
"Snacking on Swedish fish. I wonder if it's dolphin-safe ..."
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