15 Aug, 2012
A KIWI castaway, found washed up on a Blairgowrie beach after a 2000-kilometre swim, has died.The
injured Fiordland penguin had managed to survive the journey from its
native New Zealand and was taken to Melbourne Zoo on July 17 after being
spotted on the beach.
The zoo's vet team was shattered last Sunday week when the young female penguin suddenly died, after appearing to be on the mend.
"Everything had seemed to be going so well," senior veterinarian Dr Helen McCracken said.
The scrawny bird, which had an injured bone in a flipper, showed signs of severe respiratory distress on the Sunday night.
The penguin was anaesthetised and an endoscope examination revealed a severely damaged trachea.
Despite the best possible care, the weakened penguin, which had probably suffered bouts of oxygen deprivation linked to the injury, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
Several sharp fish spines found in a pocket in the wall of the oesophagus may have also contributed towards its death.
The zoo's vet team was shattered last Sunday week when the young female penguin suddenly died, after appearing to be on the mend.
"Everything had seemed to be going so well," senior veterinarian Dr Helen McCracken said.
The scrawny bird, which had an injured bone in a flipper, showed signs of severe respiratory distress on the Sunday night.
The penguin was anaesthetised and an endoscope examination revealed a severely damaged trachea.
Despite the best possible care, the weakened penguin, which had probably suffered bouts of oxygen deprivation linked to the injury, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
Several sharp fish spines found in a pocket in the wall of the oesophagus may have also contributed towards its death.
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