WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A young emperor penguin stranded in New Zealand has survived two medical procedures and now has an offer of a lift home.
Yet the aquatic bird that many are calling Happy Feet — after the lighthearted 2006 movie — is not out of danger yet. The penguin remained on an intravenous drip Saturday and faces another procedure Monday to remove more sand from its digestive system.
Additional Photos
If it does pull through, a businessman wants to take it by boat to Antarctica next February.
Happy Feet arrived on Peka Peka Beach, about 40 miles northwest of Wellington, last Monday, the first time in 44 years that an emperor penguin has been spotted in the wild in New Zealand. Typically, emperors spend their entire lives in and around Antarctica.
At first Happy Feet seemed fine, but as the week progressed, the bird became more lethargic. It ate a lot of sand, apparently mistaking it for snow, which emperor penguins eat in Antarctica to hydrate themselves.
By Friday, conservation officials decided its condition had worsened to the point that it would likely die without intervention. So they transported the penguin in a tub of ice to the Wellington Zoo.
Zoo spokeswoman Kate Baker said the bird was put on anesthesia Friday while veterinarians flushed its throat and stomach with water to remove sand. A second procedure on Saturday was more of the same, yet the penguin’s digestive system still remained clogged.
Baker said staff plan a third flushing procedure Monday. The bird remained on an intravenous drip Saturday to help it rehydrate.
New Zealand investment adviser Gareth Morgan, who is leading an expedition to Antarctica next February, on Saturday offered Happy Feet a trip home aboard a Russian icebreaker. But it would not be for another eight months.
“Of course until that time Happy Feet will have to be cared for here in Wellington, where we’re lucky enough to have a great community of wildlife experts, capable not just of pumping sand but also ensuring this wayfaring fellow is hosted appropriately until it’s time to set sail,” Morgan wrote on his website.
Blackbeard and his booty popular as exhibit opens
BEAUFORT, N.C. – Blackbeard is proving more popular in death than in life.
More than 12,000 people visited the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort in the first seven days of a new exhibit of artifacts from Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
About 300 items from the shipwreck in about 20 feet of water off North Carolina’s coast are included in the exhibit, which begins with an introduction to the QAR project and to Blackbeard the pirate. Most of the artifacts have never been displayed for the public.
Museum officials say visitors have come from 26 states, as well as Great Britain, Canada and the Netherlands.
The exhibit will be on permanent display, although it will change as different items are conserved and available for viewing.
Tired Jerry Lewis unable to perform
SYDNEY – Jerry Lewis was hospitalized Friday after he was unable to perform at a show in suburban Sydney, but his publicist said he was simply overtired.
The 85-year-old actor, comedian and tireless advocate for muscular dystrophy research is on a fundraising tour for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation Australia. He arrived at the club where he was to perform, but he couldn’t get out of the car, said Ian Lowe, the club’s general manager.
Candi Cazau, Lewis’ Las Vegas-based publicist, said he was in the hospital for about three hours.
“He’s fine from what I understand,” she said. “He was just feeling under the weather.”
Cazau said Lewis’ staff was being a bit cautious because Lewis contracted viral meningitis some years ago during an earlier trip to Australia.
Lewis has battled a debilitating back condition, heart issues and pulmonary fibrosis.
— From news services
Copy the Story Link
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.