The young Emperor penguin which became stranded in New Zealand, 2,000 miles from Antarctica, was on an intravenous drip today.
The ailing bird was moved to Wellington Zoo yesterday and underwent two medical procedures to flush sand it mistook for snow from its throat and stomach.
The penguin appeared healthy when it was first spotted on picturesque Peka Peka Beach on North Island on Monday — the country’s first sighting of the species in the wild in 44 years.
But it grew more lethargic as the days passed, falling weakly into the wet sand at times, and wildlife officials feared it would die if they did not intervene.
“It’s not going to survive here on the beach if we left it here,” said Peter Simpson, a programme manager for New Zealand’s Department of Conservation.
“There’s too much public pressure. It’s just out in the open.” The penguin had been eating occasional twigs of driftwood and lots of sand, which experts said it probably thought was the snow it normally consumes for hydration in Antarctica, and in temperatures far higher than the sub-freezing conditions it is used to.
Wellington Zoo staff said the bird was dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion.
“Today it was not moving very much and, perhaps as a consequence of eating the sand . . . it certainly has lost condition,” said John Cockram, a penguin expert from Massey University, yesterday.
Zoo vet science manager Lisa Argilla said the bird’s throat was flushed with water to try to clear the debris, but it still seemed blocked, so it underwent a more extensive stomach flush today.
However, that still did not clear out all the sand, so a third procedure is planned for tomorrow. The penguin remained on an intravenous drip today to combat dehydration.
For the 65km journey to the zoo, the 32in penguin was lifted into a tub of ice and then on to the back of a truck. The weakened bird did not need to be sedated for the ride.
The tallest and largest species of penguin, the Emperors' amazing journey to breeding grounds deep in the Antarctic was chronicled in the 2005 documentary March Of The Penguins, which highlighted their ability to survive - and breed - despite the region's brutal winter.
Estimated to be about 10 months old, the penguin was probably born during the last Antarctic winter and may have been searching for squid and krill when it got lost. Experts have not yet determined if it is male or female.
AP