Staff at Wellington Zoo say Happy Feet is “perkier” after an operation to remove sticks and stones from his stomach yesterday.
About 100 people gathered to watch the emperor penguin undergo an endoscopy – a procedure which involved a camera being inserted down the bird’s throat – at the zoo’s operating theatre yesterday.
Click 'View Video' to see video from Happy Feet's edoscopy yesterday
WARNING: Not for the squeamish!
About half of the sand and debris in the penguin’s stomach have now been suctioned out, with hopes a special diet of oily fish milkshakes, fluids and medication will assist him to pass the rest naturally, the Dominion Post reported.
Wellington Hospital gastroenterologist Dr John Wyeth assisted Wellington Zoo staff with the procedure, inserting 80 centimetres of tubing into the bird’s stomach.
Dr Wyeth had contacted the zoo on Saturday to offer to operate on Happy Feet. The zoo can perform endoscopies independently, but welcomed the specialised equipment and experience brought by Dr Wyeth.
I was a lot of trouble to go to for a penguin, but it was worth it, Dr Wyeth said.
Happy Feet has now been given the all-clear, though it is likely to take two to three months for him to recover fully.
The penguin has been getting his strength back, however.
“Yesterday he actually punched me in the stomach with his flipper,” said Wellington Zoo vet science manager Lisa Argilla.
It is still unknown whether Happy Feet is in fact male, or female.
Yesterday’s procedure was the third to be carried out on the 22kg penguin, who spend the last three days at the zoo in a temperature-controlled room on a bed of ice.
Experts have yet to decide what they will do next. Options include taking the penguin home to Antarctica by boat or plane, or releasing him off the New Zealand coast with a tracking device attached.
Taking Happy Feet home could pose a health risk for the penguin colony it rejoins, as it may have picked up diseases on its travels.
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