March of the Penguin: Happy Feet Headed Home?

By Rebecca Howard

: Wellington Zoo; Happy Feet cools off in his temporary New Zealand home. View more photos

Happy Feet, the emperor penguin who gained world-wide attention when he accidentally landed in New Zealand during his migration, may be heading home to the Antarctic later this month, said the Wellington Zoo, his temporary host.
The baby penguin was found on Peka Peka Beach, north of Wellington, in June and was transported to the zoo. He quickly gained international fame, with thousands of people logging onto a live video feed of his activities.
Happy Feet underwent five surgical procedures to remove sand and sticks from his stomach. Zoo attendance swelled on the days the procedures were carried out in a glass-fronted operating room.

: Associated Press; Happy Feet at Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand. View more photos

He has spent the last month living in an air-conditioned room furnished with fresh ice brought in daily and eating high-grade salmon. The penguin, thought to be around three years old, now weighs 26 kilograms and is ready to head south.
Kate Baker, a zoo spokeswoman, said it would cost NZ$30,000 (US$26,500) to deliver Happy Feet to the sub-Antarctic, thought to be the northern edge of young emperor penguins’ natural habitat. So far, the zoo has raised the NZ$10,000 it has cost to house and feed him and has raised NZ$8,000 toward getting him home.
Happy Feet will be trucked or flown to Bluff, on New Zealand’s South Island, and then transported south by ship. Ms. Baker said his exact departure date would depend on the availability of a ship and the weather.

Happy Feet has a microchip implanted in his leg and will also have an Argos Satellite transmitter attached to his back provided by New Zealand’s Sirtrack. “That will tell us that he has continued to go south and there are plans to have that online so people can see his progress,” said Ms. Baker.
But she noted the transmitter will be essentially glued to his feathers and therefore will only last until he molts in April.
Ms. Baker said zoo staff are confident Happy Feet can fend for himself and that they have no concerns about his fitness level, even though he has only had one recent dip, in a saltwater pool at the zoo, on an icy cold day in Wellington.
“Males are able to stand for months on the ice without swimming, so we don’t have any concerns about that,” she said.

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