More random thoughts about bartending
11 years ago
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
HOOOOOOME for Happy Feet
Wayward penguin released south of New Zealand
AP Photo/NIWA
In this photo released
by National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA),
"Happy Feet," the wayward emperor penguin, looks out of his temporary
pen before he is released into the Southern Ocean, south of New Zealand
from the NIWA research vessel Tangaroa Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011. "Happy
Feet" was back home Sunday in Antarctic waters more than two months
after he came ashore on a beach nearly 2,000 miles (3,000 kilometers)
from home and became an instant celebrity.
Happy Feet was released into the ocean south of New Zealand on Sunday, more than two months after he came ashore on a beach nearly 2,000 miles (3,000 kilometers) from home and became an instant celebrity.
Speaking from a satellite phone aboard the research vessel Tangaroa, Wellington Zoo veterinarian Lisa Argilla said Happy Feet's release went remarkably smoothly given that the boat was being tossed about in 25-foot (8-meter) swells in the unforgiving Antarctic ocean.
Argilla said crew members from the boat carried the penguin inside his custom-built crate to the stern of the ship for his final send-off about 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) north of remote Campbell Island. The crew had already cut the engines and put in place a canvas slide that they soaked with water from a hose.
But when they opened the door of the crate, the penguin showed no interest in leaving.
"I needed to give him a little a tap on his back," Argilla said.
The penguin slipped down the slide on his stomach, bottom first, she said. He resurfaced about 6 feet (2 meters) from the boat, took a look up at the people aboard, and then disappeared beneath the surface.
"I was really happy to see him go," Argilla said. "The best part of my job is when you get to release animals back into the wild where they are supposed to be."
The 3-foot-tall (meter-tall) aquatic bird was found June 20 on Peka Peka Beach, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of New Zealand's capital, Wellington. It had been 44 years since an emperor penguin was last spotted in the wild in New Zealand.
At first, conservation authorities said they would wait and let nature take its course with the penguin. But it soon became clear the bird's condition was deteriorating, as he scooped up beaks full of sand and swallowed, likely mistaking it for snow, which emperor penguins eat for its moisture when in Antarctica.
With the world watching, authorities finally took action, moving the penguin to the Wellington Zoo four days after he was discovered.
At the zoo, the 3 1/2-year-old bird underwent numerous stomach flushing procedures to remove sand from his digestive system. He was given a makeshift home in a room that zoo staff kept filled with a bed of ice so he wouldn't overheat.
A local television station, TV3, set up a webcam and streamed images of the bird around-the-clock. Soon, Happy Feet had a quarter-million followers.
And, perhaps befitting of a bird from the Internet age, those followers will be able to keep track of him for a while longer. Happy Feet has been fitted with a GPS tracker, and his movements will be posted online. Argilla expects the tracker to fall off the next time the bird molts.
Argilla said the final boat journey, which began last Monday and ran into terrible weather, was difficult for her — she got seasick — and the crew. The one who seemed least bothered, she said, was Happy Feet, who rolled with the swells, slept standing up and took nips at the crew when they fed him fresh fish.
Now that Happy Feet has been nursed back to health, Argilla said his chances are as good as they are for any other penguin in the wild.
"He swam away, not caring about us anymore," Argilla said.
She paused.
"And that's a good thing," she said.
source
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NIWA, Fuseworks
September 4, 2011
NIWA: Goodbye Happy Feet - We wish you well
Happy Feet was released at 10.30 am this morning, 49 miles due north of Campbell Island, at a depth of 285 metres.
The emperor penguin was released down a purpose-made 'hydro-slide' off the stern ramp of the vessel by Wellington Zoo, Manager of Veterinary Science, Dr Lisa Argilla and NIWA staff. Other options to release the Happy Feet, including using an inflatable boat, could not be used because of the rough seas.
Dr Argilla said the release went without a hitch.
"Happy Feet needed some gentle encouragement to leave the safety of his crate that has been his home for six days. He slid down his specially designed penguin slide backwards but once he hit the water he spared no time in diving off away from the boat and all those 'aliens' who have been looking after him for so long."
"It's an indescribable feeling to see a patient finally set free! It's definitely the best part of the job," Dr Argilla said.
The NIWA team onboard were all out on deck to farewell their special passenger. Everyone is glad he's now been returned to his natural environment.
"It's been a pleasure to have Happy Feet onboard. He's been a well-behaved passenger, except when our team have helped to feed him, and he's shown them who the boss is with a peck or two," says voyage leader Dr Richard O'Driscoll. "We are just happy to help him on his journey home."
Happy Feet left Wellington Zoo last Monday- his home for the last two months since being found exhausted and hungry on Peka Peka beach on the Kapiti Coast - in a travel crate specially designed to keep him cold and comfortable during the voyage.
Onboard Tangaroa Happy Feet has been treated to hoki for his meals and 'room service' with fresh ice put in his crate each day.
The team onboard Tangaroa will now continue their voyage on a month-long fisheries survey on Campbell Island southern blue whiting stocks. Happy Feet has been fitted with a Sirtrack satellite tracker and a microchip, thanks to the generous support of Gareth Morgan.
Fans can follow his progress on the Wellington Zoo website (www.wellingtonzoo.com) Sirtrack website (www.sirtrack.com) and the Our Far South website (www.ourfarsouth.org).
source
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hard to tell if Happy Feet headed in right direction
KIRAN CHUG
06/09/2011
There was concern among online watchers yesterday that the wayward emperor penguin appeared to be heading north again after his release, rather than home to Antarctica.
But Te Papa terrestrial vertebrates curator Colin Miskelly warned people watching the penguin's movements through a tracking device not to be alarmed if the tracking map suggested he was heading in the wrong direction.
"It isn't a GPS. It's a satellite tracker and the error in that is substantial," he said. "When you see it zig-zagging, it can't give you a precise fix."
There was little point in reading too much into the data until a pattern emerged after several days, Dr Miskelly said.
Happy Feet was released in waters about 285 metres deep near Campbell Island on Sunday. He is the first emperor freed into the wild with a tracking device. Massey University associate professor John Cockrem, who has studied the penguins in Antarctica, said juveniles did not return to Antarctica to breed until they were about five years old.
Happy Feet could be swimming around the ocean until then – although his tracker will fall off his feathers once he moults later this year.
He is believed to be aged somewhere between one and five, although his age has been debated. "If the bird is only two or three, it might take a year or two before it would naturally go back to the [Antarctic] continent," Dr Cockrem said.
source
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Was Happy Feet bird-napped by a trawler?
KATE NEWTON 9/5/2011
1 of 5
NIWA
Zoom
Wellington Zoo vet Lisa Argilla, who helped to free the emperor penguin from the research vessel Tangaroa yesterday, said zoo staff had discussed whether he might have been by-catch from a fishing boat in southern waters and later released closer to Wellington.
"That's very possible that that could have happened.
"There's no way we'll ever know."
After six days at sea, rough conditions subsided enough for Dr Argilla and Niwa scientists on board the Tangaroa to release Happy Feet, down a tarpaulin "hydroslide" rigged on the boat's stern ramp.
The tracker on Happy Feet shows he swam north-east for a time, before getting his bearings and heading south.
Hesitant about leaving his purpose- built, ice-filled crate, Dr Argilla had to nudge him out onto the ramp, where he stood craning his neck at crew members.
A final nudge sent him sliding in an undignified backwards descent to the ocean, to the cheers of his human entourage.
"He gave us one last look, then took off and dived and we never saw him again," Dr Argilla told The Dominion Post.
She was happy to see him back in his natural habitat.
"It's the best part of my job - I'm just hoping that he's going to live a great life."
Happy Feet was due to be released on Friday, but 130kmh winds and swells of up to 15 metres pushed the Tangaroa off course.
The boat finally reached a latitude of 51 degrees - the northern end of emperor penguins' range - overnight on Saturday. Happy Feet has been fitted with a tracking device so his progress can be monitored.
Dr Argilla said he was fit and healthy and had "just as much chance" of surviving as other juvenile emperor penguins, which tend to swim alone. He could spend up to a year in the Southern Ocean before meeting up with other juveniles and returning to Antarctica to breed.
Conservation Department spokesman Reuben Williams said DOC staff would not be investigating the possibility Happy Feet could have been dumped by a fishing crew.
source
Image of the Day (yesterday & today)
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/butamaguromagu/4514713261/" title="Untitled by butamaguromagu, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2175/4514713261_7fa5d7c50e_z.jpg" width="640" height="428" alt=""></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/markqpr/6102121677/" title="preening by MarkQPR, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6083/6102121677_2040c3ee12_z.jpg" width="640" height="353" alt="preening"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/markqpr/6102121677/" title="preening by MarkQPR, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6083/6102121677_2040c3ee12_z.jpg" width="640" height="353" alt="preening"></a>
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Penguins in the pipes make their screen debut
JO MOIR
03/09/2011
PENGUIN WATCH: Dave Chadfield in his Chaddy's Charters store where he has set up a live camera feed from a penguin nest nearby.
Port Taranaki chartered lifeboat owner Dave Chadfield said blue penguins first settled in some old pipes near his shop 21 years ago. But now their nesting activities can be seen on a big screen, thanks to funding from the George Mason Charitable Trust and Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society.
It has paid for a camera which is filming one nest with a live feed back to a screen in Chaddy's Charters shop.
"The schoolkids come in and have a look and think it's just great.
"It's all about learning about the penguins' behaviour and teaching others about it."
Many penguins had come and gone over the years and yesterday there were three sitting on eggs.
Mr Chadfield said the camera also helped him keep an eye on their welfare.
"They are a bit earlier with their laying this year by about two weeks."
He said the activeness of the penguins was fascinating, and he finds himself wandering downstairs from his lounge to the shop at all hours to see what they're up to.
It was Chaddy's old dog, Suzie, who discovered the birds two decades ago.
"She was acting strangely around the pipes not long after I opened the shop so I stuck my head in and there was a family of penguins staring back at me."
Anyone and everyone is welcome to view the penguins live on screen at the shop.
"It's all part of eco-tourism really and it's great for people to get to know more about how penguins live.
"They're fascinating little things," he said.
source
Friday, September 2, 2011
More Media Coverage of Happy Feet's Journey Home
Happy Feet begins journey home from NZ
Wayward emperor penguin hitches ride back to Antarctic
In this photo released by China's Xinhua
News Agency, emperor penguin Happy Feet is seen in his room at
Wellington Zoo's hospital, New Zealand.
By NICK PERRY
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The
wayward emperor penguin dubbed Happy Feet craned his head, flapped his
flippers and seemed a little perturbed as he started his journey home to
cooler southern waters Monday.
The penguin was moved from the Wellington Zoo, where staff has cared
for him for the past two months to the research ship Tangaroa, which
will release him after four days at sea at a latitude of 51 degrees
south.Happy Feet has been placed in a custom-made crate for the journey and will be kept cool with 60 buckets of ice. He'll be fed fish.
The Tangaroa is New Zealand's largest research vessel and was already scheduled to head into frigid southern waters to check on fish numbers in order to set fishing quotas.
The 3-foot-tall (meter-tall) penguin was found on a New Zealand beach June 20, far from his Antarctic feeding grounds. He was moved to the zoo after he became ill from eating sand that he likely mistook for snow. He's since regained weight and been cleared to be returned to the wild.
Lisa Argilla, a veterinarian who has helped nurse the penguin back to health, said he has a "stronger and stroppier attitude" than when he first arrived at the zoo, when his demeanor seemed flat and his feather condition was poor.
"He's definitely a survivor," she said.
Happy Feet peers out form his temporary cage as he is carried
aboard the research vessel Tangaroa at Burnham Wharf in Wellington, New
Zealand, on Monday.
"He's brought a lot of hope and joy to people," said Karen Fifield, Wellington Zoo's chief executive. "His story has driven to the heart of what makes us human."
The boat's skipper Richard O'Driscoll said that once the Tangaroa has reached the drop-off point, he will likely cut the engines and then release the penguin from the deck into the sea using a makeshift canvas slide.
More than 1,700 people went to the zoo Sunday to bid goodbye to Happy Feet, who was visible in a glassed area while getting final medical checks. The zoo has covered the cost of his stay with about $28,000 in donations.
Argilla said she will miss Happy Feet but hopes it will be the last she sees of him. By next year, she said, he will be old enough to find a mate and breed.
source
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Happy Feet impatient for freedom
KIRAN CHUG
02/09/2011
ANDREW GORRIE/Dominion Post
SEE YA: Happy Feet looks out of his container before the start of his journey home.
The penguin, which is still being kept in his crate on board the research vessel Tangaroa, now looks likely to be set free tomorrow.
The Niwa team onboard the vessel said he was coping well with the sway of the boat which is battling very rough and high seas with strong swells.
"He is even sleeping standing up, keeping perfect balance."
Yet while he may seem calm, he has lost none of his stroppiness or impatience to be released.
"When he wakes up, he squawks at the crew passing by and seems to know he is near home territory."
Wellington Zoo vet Lisa Argilla, who is travelling onboard the vessel with Happy Feet, said he was doing well, standing in his crate, and taking the conditions in his stride.
Yesterday's 5m swells were likely to be topped by 8m seas today.
The boat had slowed down for safety reasons she said.
"The Tangaroa is a reasonably big boat and the ocean is tossing her around as if she was a toy," Dr Argilla said.
Conditions were likely to clear tomorrow.
Once the boat reaches a latitude of about 51 degrees, Happy Feet will be released off the back of the boat using the ship's ramp where the crew will set up a specially-designed tarpaulin to slide him down.
source
A penguin's peril
31/08/2011
BARRY HARCOURT/The Southland Times
SHOULD I GO OR NOT?: This tawaki on one of
the Shelter Islands pauses before leaving on a feeding trip. The birds
may spend up to a week at sea before returning to take over nesting
duties.
The Fiordland crested penguin, or tawaki, ranges on New Zealand's West Coast from South Westland to Whenua Hou, or Codfish Island, off Stewart Island.
They number fewer than 5000, which puts their official conservation status at "nationally vulnerable", but monitoring by Conservation Department staff has shown that their status should be elevated to endangered or even critical.
Hanna Edmonds, a biodiversity ranger with DOC Te Anau, says there is not enough recognition or funding for penguin conservation in New Zealand.
Where there is, the focus has been on hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguins, and more recently the emperor penguin Happy Feet, which is not even a New Zealand bird.
Several birds of lower conservation status receive more attention and funding than tawaki, in particular mohua (yellowhead), whio (blue duck) and the North Island kokako.
Conservation staff have been monitoring and counting nests in breeding colonies on Breaksea Island, Shelter Islands and Martins Bay, on the Fiordland mainland, since 1994, as well as at sites on Whenua Hou and South Westland, where observations suggest the species is in decline.
Tawaki monitoring is difficult: they nest in small colonies, often in small caves in tree roots where they are hard to find, and mostly in dark places. They are also flighty and easily disturbed.
In one cave on the Shelter Islands we found nine pairs of tawaki on eggs in very muddy conditions with no light whatsoever reaching the nests; it's possible penguins have been using this nesting site for 100 years.
Concern over the reliability of nest counts has prompted monitors to start double-counting to test accuracy, with a second team following the first team and looking for any nests missed. The GPS co-ordinates of all nests are recorded.
Data suggests a 95 per cent chance of detecting a 10 per cent change in population.
Breaksea Island is predator free but the tawaki population still seems to be in decline, so availability of food could be an issue.
Tawaki spend most of their life at sea, returning only to nest or, for a short period in February, to moult. They arrive back at their preferred site in July to set up nests. Up to two eggs are laid in August, hatching in September. Chicks are then kept in a creche with a few adults watching over them, before they depart to the sea in late November.
source
Penguin That Washed Up In New Zealand Returns To Antarctica
Aug 30, 2011
Wellington, New Zealand -- The young Emperor penguin that captured global attention after he strayed thousands of miles from home and washed up on a New Zealand beach, is on his way home to Antarctic waters in a specially designed cage on-board a research vessel.
On Monday (August 29) the Wellington Zoo, where the bird -- nicknamed "Happy Feet" -- has been living since June, put the penguin on the NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) research vessel, Tangaroa.
"We have a bitter sweet moment I think for the zoo because we are a bit sad to see 'Happy Feet' go," said Chief Executive Karen Fifield.
Crew from the Tangaroa were impressed by how famous their new quest is - even outdoing a former prime minister.
"Even when we had Helen Clark on board saying good bye to us, we never had this sort of interest," said Niwa Chief Executive John Morgan.
"Happy Feet" has been fitted with a GPS tracker that will allow fans to monitor his progress on several websites, and will be released from the ship about four days out at sea, en route to his final destination.
Wellington Zoo veterinarian Liza Argilla, who has taken care of "Happy Feet", is accompanying the penguin. "Happy Feet" is being housed in a specially-designed crate to keep him cool and comfortable during the voyage.
"There is always apprehension because you do get attached. Like Karen was saying. But like I say, it is very exciting, it is one of the favorite parts of my job is when you can rehabilitate them. I'm actually looking forward to it," said Argilla.
Zoo staff have two options for his release into the water. One is to put him in a small sea boat and place him in the water or place him on a tarpaulin at the back of the ship and let him slide into the water.
He will be set free in the Southern Ocean, at the northern end where juvenile emperor penguins will normally be at this time of year. The sea currents should then guide him back to Antarctica.
The bird became the focus of global media after he was found on Peka Peka beach on New Zealand's north island some 4,000 km (2,500 miles) from his home, only the second Emperor penguin known to have shown up in New Zealand.
He underwent endoscopic surgery in June to remove three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of sand from its stomach before recuperating at the zoo.
Penguins normally eat snow to stay hydrated but veterinarians believe "Happy Feet", named after the main character in a popular animated film, became confused and ate sand instead.
Emperor penguins are the largest penguin species and can weigh up to 30 kg (66 pounds). The last sighting of an Emperor penguin in New Zealand took place in 1967.
CBS News
source
Happy Feet getting anxious for the sea
KIRAN CHUG
31/08/2011
ANDREW GORRIE/Dominion Post
SNOW MAN: Happy Feet loves his icy enclosure, but is also keen to get back in the water now that he is at sea.
Track Happy Feet's progress with our map
His crate has been secured to the boat's deck, and Wellington Zoo vet Lisa Argilla, who is travelling with the Niwa team, described the scene this morning.
"He tried to climb out of his crate this morning when we removed the lid! I bet he can't wait to be free now after sensing that he is on the ocean."
He was found sick and confused on Peka Peka Beach in June.
Niwa biologists Dan MacGibbon and Neil Bagley have been specially trained to help Dr Argilla handle Happy Feet on board.
The penguin was looking happy and active this morning, but almost too active to handle, Dr Argilla said.
"He also beat Dan [MacGibbon] up after he was caught for his medication and food, just reminding us all who is boss I guess."
Dr Argilla is blogging about the journey, and said the boat was this morning cruising past the east coast of the South Island.
With the vessel heading in a south-easterly direction, she expected the view to disappear soon.
The sea had been reasonably calm, with some small swells.
She had seen what she believed was a southern right whale cruising along about 40m from the boat, and she hoped to see some more wildlife once Happy Feet had been released.
He will be released into the ocean at 51 degrees, in sub-Antarctic waters.
source
Thursday, September 1, 2011
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