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A gentle push, and Happy Feet heads for home
Source: Agencies |
September 5, 2011, Monday
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HE needed a little push before speeding backward down a makeshift slide. Once in the water, he popped his head up for one last look, and then he was gone. The wayward emperor penguin known as "Happy Feet" was back home in Antarctic waters after an extended sojourn capturing hearts in New Zealand.
Happy Feet was released into the ocean south of New Zealand yesterday, more than two months after he came ashore on a beach nearly 3,000 kilometers from home and became an instant celebrity. Speaking from a satellite telephone 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 eight-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. 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 two 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 meter-tall aquatic bird was found on June 20 on Peka Peka Beach, about 65km 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. But it soon became clear the bird's condition was deteriorating, as he scooped up beaks of sand and swallowed, perhaps mistaking it for snow, which emperor penguins eat for its moisture when in Antarctica.
Authorities moved the penguin to Wellington Zoo, where he underwent stomach flushing to remove sand.
Happy Feet has been fitted with a global positioning system tracker, and his movements will be posted online.
Happy Feet was released into the ocean south of New Zealand yesterday, more than two months after he came ashore on a beach nearly 3,000 kilometers from home and became an instant celebrity. Speaking from a satellite telephone 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 eight-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. 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 two 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 meter-tall aquatic bird was found on June 20 on Peka Peka Beach, about 65km 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. But it soon became clear the bird's condition was deteriorating, as he scooped up beaks of sand and swallowed, perhaps mistaking it for snow, which emperor penguins eat for its moisture when in Antarctica.
Authorities moved the penguin to Wellington Zoo, where he underwent stomach flushing to remove sand.
Happy Feet has been fitted with a global positioning system tracker, and his movements will be posted online.
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