Emperor Penguin at Peka Peka, Kapiti Coast

[Clinton9]

Ledzep,
I don't think ash cloud brought the penguin to here.
Most juvenile Emperor penguins are out fishing & feeding in darkness near sea ices of Antarcica and they are not going to migrate to NZ & Australia, South America. They remain in Antarcica.
This penguin have its mind for go touring the NZ and were swimming, not flying in air, to NZ here.

Clinton.

[Byrd]

Thats rite Duncan you would be feeling very sick after that

On another note when I was on Stewart Island 2years back theres a photo of a Emperor/king penguin at halfmoon bay, photo was located in the Doc info centre I cant confirm that it was emperor or King penguin "This wasnt too long ago under 10years" if it is an emperor it would be the third recorded sighting. maybe anyone on Stewart Is could confirm this?
That photo cracked me up because it was pictured heading to the bar.

hi Tim,
that bird was a king penguin in 1984. The following is a link to a message by Colin Miskelly regarding it that I came across coincidentally yesterday whilst checking the date of the Barrytown king penguin.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BIRDING-NZ/message/2357

[tim]

Thanks for Solving that one super quick Byrd, I wasnt too sure if it was a emperor or king I just remembered seeing the photo and thinking back.

[Byrd]

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-storie ... r-penguin/

The next 24 hours are critical for an young Antarctic emperor penguin who turned up on a Kapiti Coast beach, say Wellington Zoo staff who examined the bird.

The emperor penguin swam about 3200km from its Antarctic home to Peka Peka beach, about 60km north of Wellington. Its health was ailing before it was transported to the zoo today.

Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said the penguin was put under anaesthetic, while vet staff used water to flush out sand from his throat.

An x-ray had showed a lot of sand in his throat and stomach.

It was also possible he had ingested drift wood, though none had showed on the x-ray, she told NZPA.

Zoo vets woke up the animal late this afternoon and planned to monitor him over night, Ms Baker said.

"It's still touch and go. It will really depend on how the next 24 hours go."

The penguin would be given medication and fed food and water through an intravenous catheter, she said.

A treatment room at the zoo had been chilled with ice and an air conditioner for him.

"Basically unless something goes wrong, he'll kind of be left to recover for a bit -- for at least the next 24 hours.

"So they won't anaesthetise him again tomorrow unless they absolutely have to. And then they'll see how things go from there."

Vets had also taken blood samples, which would be tested for any infection or other health issues, Ms Baker said.

"At the moment it's looking at treating that sand and making sure that he's fed and hydrated."

Experts think the penguins may have eaten the sand because the birds normally eat snow for hydration and to keep cool.

The bird was first spotted at Peka Peka on Monday.

A decision has not been made about its future.

[andrewcrossland]

grounded jetstar planes, overpriced Air NZ ones and booked out ferries mean this South Island "twitcher" isn't going to meet Pekapeka the Penguin in person, but great to see the public interest and genuine concern for this bird's welfare on NZ TV and overseas news media.

It will be interesting to see if this becomes a case of real life immitating fiction and the poor bird ends up on zoo-display - public sentiment possibly not letting it be released back to temperate seas and nature allowed to take its course? If it starts tap-dancing then ......................

AC

[Byrd]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5191951 ... rst-hurdle

The young emperor penguin rescued from a Kapiti Coast beach has survived the night, following a harrowing four-hour operation to clear sand from his airway yesterday.

Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said the penguin, dubbed Happy Feet, had been eating ice overnight and had "passed some sand" this morning.

He will now undergo a second procedure at 11am to remove some more sand from his stomach.

Last night Happy Feet was given only a 50 per cent chance of survival by his vets, who removed sand blocking his oesophagus. X-rays have revealed his stomach is full of it, and it remains a grave danger.

The operation was the first hurdle in the attempt to save the penguin, whose plight has captured local and international attention.

After swimming about 4000 kilometres from Antarctica, Happy Feet was first spied on Peka Peka Beach on Monday by resident Chris Wilton. Though the penguin appeared lively, four days of eating sand and sticks caused his condition to deteriorate.

Yesterday he was lethargic, occasionally trying to spit sand. About midday, Te Papa and Conservation Department officials whisked him to the zoo in a chiller.

Vet science manager Doctor Lisa Argilla assessed the 27-kilogram bird as dehydrated, stressed, suffering from heat exhaustion and struggling to swallow - but still feisty enough to kick and struggle as she sedated him.

Penguins in the Antarctic eat ice when trying to cool down, and he was trying to do the same with sand, Te Papa terrestrial vertebrates curator Colin Miskelly said. "He would have had no idea eating sand was not good for him."

At the zoo's operating theatre, a captivated crowd of about 50 watched through the glass as vets worked quickly, discussing where best to insert a catheter and squeezing antibiotic ointment into his sand-filled, ulcer-covered eyes.

Gently, Dr Argilla began to squirt water down his throat. Moments later, sand began cascading into a bucket.

After long, worrying moments, his oesophagus was cleared and Dr Argilla pronounced Happy Feet to be in a stable, but serious, condition. "The most important thing for him now is to rest," she said, stroking his soft coat.

He was last sighted nibbling ice in a temperature-controlled room, and will be treated to a meal of fish slurry today.

"We won't disturb him unless something goes wrong, and we'll reassess on Sunday to see if we need to sedate him again and get more sand out. The sand is still a very big concern - that's a lot of sand. The first 24 hours are critical."

But his long-term future remains unclear, with DOC's Peter Simpson saying he will be in discussions with penguin experts and other parties. "We have a dilemma. There is no transport to Antarctica this time of year ... we'll just have to take it day by day."

[Byrd]

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-storie ... trip-home/

The emperor penguin found more than 3000km from its Antarctic home on the Kapiti Coast this week will next year be offered a cruisier way home than his epic swim out here.

Businessman Gareth Morgan has offered a seat to the bird dubbed Happy Feet on a Russian icebreaker ship in February for an "Our Far South" expedition to the Ross Sea.

"Of course until that time Happy Feet will have to be cared for here in Wellington," he said.

The penguin is tonight in a critical condition in a cold room at Wellington Zoo.

Today some sand Happy Feet had eaten had been removed from his stomach, following two procedures at the zoo yesterday, Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said.

"We won’t do another procedure on him tomorrow - he’s had two anaesthetics in two days, so after this we will give him a bit of a rest."

An x-ray showed today’s procedure only removed about twenty percent of the sand was removed from the penguin’s stomach, and they might do a similar one on Monday, Ms Baker said.

The penguin passed some sand through its digestive system last night and they hoped it would pass more tonight, she said.

Sand from its oesophagus was removed yesterday.

About 75 people watched today’s procedure, which was done by Dr Baukje Lenting and Dr Lisa Argilla of Wellington Zoo, and involved putting a tube inside the penguin’s stomach and pumping water in.

The emperor penguin swam about 3200km from its Antarctic home to Peka Peka beach, about 60km north of Wellington. The only previous recording of an emperor penguin in New Zealand was at Southland’s Oreti Beach in 1967.
Penguins usually ate snow for hydration and to keep cool, and experts believed it had eaten the sand because it was confused about where it was.

[Byrd]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/5195 ... gh-surgery

Happy Feet the penguin is in recovery after doctors today removed more than one litre of fluid and handful of sticks from his stomach during an operation.

Surgery started on Happy Feet this morning with doctors using a device to suck sand, sticks and fish out of its stomach.

A leading Wellington surgeon helped work on the emperor penguin found on a Kapiti beach last week.

The juvenile emperor penguin, found about 4000 kilometres from home on Peka Peka Beach last week is undergoing an endoscopy to find out what is making him sick.

The 27kg bird was taken to Wellington Zoo where it has been staying in a makeshift, temperature-controlled room, on a bed of party ice.

More than 100 people gathered at the zoo along with dozens of journalists.

Doctors worked for about three hours to removed 1200ml of fluid and sand from its stomach along with a handful of sticks.

The operation had to be stopped after some of the equipment they were using broke.

It is now recovering and staff at the zoo said they would leave it to try and process the rest of his stomach contents before x-raying it again on Wednesday.

Wellington Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said today the penguin was "bright'' but remained in a critical condition.

Ms Baker said Wellington Hospital gastroenterologist Dr John Wyeth would help with the procedure.

Dr Wyeth did his training in Wellington and at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

"Although we do endoscopies here, a gastroenterologist has a lot more experience and is also bringing along some specialised equipment,'' she said.

If Happy Feet pulls through another gruelling operation today, penguin experts will debate whether taking the Antarctic bird back home is the best option.

A Massey University penguin expert, Associate Professor John Cockrem, said choices included releasing the penguin into Foveaux Strait, or taking him back to Antarctica by boat or plane.

But transporting the bird would be risky and could threaten his survival.

If Happy Feet made it to Antarctica, then placing him with the other penguins would put them at risk of contracting diseases he may have picked up in New Zealand's more tropical climes.

The next trips to Antarctica are supply flights to Scott Base in August.

Businessman Gareth Morgan had offered Happy Feet a berth on a Russian icebreaker ship, but that would not be until February.

If he was released near Stewart Island, a tracking device could be used to follow his path, Mr Cockrem said.

The cost of housing the penguin is being borne jointly by DOC and Wellington Zoo. He is staying in a makeshift, temperature-controlled room, on a bed of party ice.

DOC biodiversity programme manager Peter Simpson said they had "no idea" what to do yet, and would discuss a permanent solution in the next few days.

This was by far the most bewildering conservation issue he had been involved in, he said. "It's way outside of its usual operating range, and that's why it's so extraordinary that it's survived."

Responding to criticisms that DOC should have acted earlier, Mr Simpson said there had been no reason to intervene until Happy Feet's condition deteriorated.

The penguin initially appeared healthy and experts had hoped that it would make its own way home. Elephant and leopard seals from Antarctica had become stranded on the New Zealand coast and usually left of their own accord.

there's a video on the link too

[philbattley]

But who decided to give the penguin such a dire name...? Doubtless the media, who can't handle a story without a cutesy name.

[Byrd]

nope, it was the lady who first found the penguin on the beach, Christine Wilton. I actually asked her when I was there if she knew it was an emperor penguin when she found it and she said yes because it looked just like the ones in Happy Feet. One of the media reports I read credited her with the name, and of course they ran with it because it is cutesy. The Wellington Zoo staff on the other hand are apparently somewhat loathe to use it (so I read)