Lost emperor penguin fit to head home, say New Zealand experts - Polidicks

[img]http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/assets/images/article/journal/9263/emperor-penguin-new-zealand-H.jpg[/img] [QUOTE]WELLINGTON, July 29 (Xinhua) -- An emperor penguin that became an international star after being washed up in New Zealand hundreds of kilometers from his native Antarctica could be heading home within a month.A spokesperson for Wellington Zoo, where Happy Feet the penguin is being cared for, said the giant bird had made a remarkable recovery and gained 4 kg since he came ashore on a North Island beach more than a month ago. Kate Baker told Xinhua Friday that Happy Feet had been given a clean bill of health and was "good to go" after the results of his latest X-ray came through. "The X-ray showed he's still got some rocks in his stomach, but that's quite normal for emperor penguins they need the rocks to help their digestion," said Baker. She said zoo staff and experts from New Zealand's Department of Conservation had decided he should be released in the ocean between New Zealand and Antarctica in mid to late August, possibly from a fishing boat. The penguin, who drew international attention and inspired headlines such "The Lost Emperor" after his arrival in New Zealand, had put on 4 kg during his stay at the zoo, said Baker. "You can see how much bigger and stronger he is than when he arrived," said Baker. "He's quite big and plump he has a good layer of blubber on him." Happy Feet, who was 90 cm tall and now weighed 26 kg, had been "chock-full of sand," which experts thought he might have eaten after mistaking it for snow, and bony when he arrived, said Baker. The male penguin would bide his time at the zoo until a release plan was carefully prepared. "Juvenile penguins of his type are normally found in sub- Antarctic waters, mostly on pack ice in the ocean," said Baker. "We've already put a microchip on him and we'll put a transponder (tracking device) on him so that we can keep track of him in real time. That will last up to a year and will probably come off when he molts." She said staff at the zoo would miss Happy Feet, who had started to show a distinctive personality to them. "We've become quite attached to him, but our ultimate goal is to release him into the wild," she said. "Emperor penguins are quite inquisitive, so we're trying to limit contact with him because we don't want him to get used to us." Experts estimated from his height and plumage coloring that Happy Feet was still a young bird. He is the first emperor penguin known to have reached New Zealand shores since 1967, and experts are still uncertain as to why he arrived, speculating that he lost his way while searching for food or he became caught in an ocean current. Emperor penguins are the largest penguins, growing more than a meter tall and weighing up to 30 kg. They feed on fish, krill, squid and a other marine invertebrates and can live for up to 30 years. They have been known to dive to 450 metres below the ocean's surface and survive 11 minutes underwater. [/QUOTE] Source: [URL="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-07/29/c_131017715.htm"]http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-07/29/c_131017715.htm [/URL]Farewell. :(

Glad it survived Also that object below the penguin in the image looks like a giant severed human finger

Brave little emperor Well I'm glad it's going back home. Although the life conditions of emperor penguins is quite harsh and unforgiving. The kind of lifestyle where many of his brothers will inevitably die every year. To starvation and cold.

[QUOTE=ThePutty;31406166]Glad it survived Also that object below the penguin in the image looks like a giant severed human finger[/QUOTE] I'm waiting for "dildo"

[QUOTE=proch;31406261]I'm waiting for "dildo"[/QUOTE] it's a severed penis