Penguin far from home
Two operations, round-the-clock care and an offer of a lift home to Antarctica... the loneliest penguin is making a lot of friends
A young Emperor penguin that took a wrong turn and swam 4,000 miles to New Zealand has survived two operations - and been offered a ride home.
The black and white bird - nicknamed Happy Feet - came ashore on a beach in the south of the North Island last Monday - miles from his natural habitat in Antarctica.
The stranded creature was taken into care and remained on an intravenous drip yesterday. It faces another procedure on Monday to remove more sand from its digestive system.
If Happy Feet does pull through, a businessman wants to take it by boat to Antarctica next February.
The perplexed penguin arrived on Peka Peka Beach, around 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Wellington, last Monday, *the first time in 44 years that one of the birds 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 during the frozen winters.
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 anaesthesia for 2 1/2 hours on 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 want to give the bird a break Sunday but plan a third flushing procedure on 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, 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.
'A sea passage is far more akin to the animal's natural rite of passage across the Southern Ocean than any trip in a Globelifter jet might be, with no risk of deep vein thrombosis,' Morgan added jokingly.
Whether officials choose to take Morgan up on his offer may depend on Happy Feet's health.
Peter Simpson, a program manager for New Zealand's Department of Conservation, said earlier in the week that there was a chance the bird might have picked up a disease in warmer climes which staff wouldn't want to introduce back into the Antarctic colony.
If a trip back to the Antarctic doesn't pan out, there's always the offer of a more sheltered life.
Lauren DuBois, assistant curator of birds at SeaWorld in San Diego, which has the only colony of emperor penguins in North America, said SeaWorld would be willing to step in and help. Thirty birds live there in a 25-degree Fahrenheit (minus 4 Celsius) habitat that simulates Antarctica, with up to 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms) of snow blown in every day.
Estimated to be about 10 months old, Happy Feet probably was born during the last Antarctic winter and may have been searching for squid and krill when it got lost. Experts haven't yet determined whether it is male or female.
The rare venture north captured the public's imagination, with school groups, sightseers and news crews coming to the beach to see the penguin and photograph it from a distance.
The amazing journey of emperors, the tallest and largest species of penguin, 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 winters.
What do you think should happen to the penguin?
Why do you think stories like these make the news?
Do you remember any similar story?
Grammar point:
It's "the first time in 44 years that an emperor penguin has been spotted in the wild in New Zealand".
structure:
first / second / third .... time + present perfect (have + past part) or
present perfect + once, twice, three times ...
We use this structure to show the frequency of an action (from the past until now).
This is the first time I have ever been here.
I have seen this film twice before.
How many times have you eaten in that restaurant?
I've only been to La Reina Sofia three or four times since I came here.
Source: AssociatedPress (You Tube) Key words: lost penguin new zealand
Comments
to spot- to notice or to see something
frozen(adj) - extremely cold / to freeze
to worse - the opposite of improve = to get worse
to hatch - when a baby bird comes out of the egg
to give sb a lift somewhere - to take sb in your car to a place
a sightseer - a person on holiday who visits interesting places / to go sightseeing
a disease - an illness caused by infection
a shrimp - a sea animal that has ten arms and is eaten a lot in Spain
to take sb up on an offer - to accept an offer that sb has made
s___ (noun) - a lot of this is often found on beaches / (adj) s____
to catch the imagination - when you feel very interested and excited by something
to have a sheltered life - one which is too protected and offers little excitement / to shelter - to protect yourself from weather or danger
to be w______ to do sth - to be happy to do sth if needed
to blow - when sth moves or is moved by air eg wind / blew (past), blown (past participle)
clogged (adj) – to be blocked
to flush – to empty the cistern in the toilet
stranded (adj) – when you can’t leave somewhere for anything.
wildlife (unc n) – the animals and plants which live in a place.
to pull through – to recover of a illness or a problem.
light-hearted (adj) – not serious
to mistake sb/sth for sb/sth else – to confuse somebody or something with a different person o thing.
See you tomorrow, ¡the last day!
I am looking forward to getting up a bit later on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's just as well I enjoyed the classes with you and the gang. It would have been so much harder if I hadn't liked the class.
Now it's time for a well-earned break for everyone.
There is usually a lot of SAND on beaches. Many beaches are SANDY.
to be WILLING to do sth - to be happy to do sth if needed
I don't know how many "arms" a shrimp has but I'm almost sure that a SQUID has ten.
to pull through – to RECOVER FROM AN illness or a problem.
to flush – to empty the cistern in the toilet (that's a very polite way of putting it lol) This poor bird had the sand flushed from its system - it's the equivalent of having your stomach pumped when you are blind drunk. (And before you think it, I've never experienced it!)
You are welcome to continue with the blog - let's face it, without you .... haha
I like having motivated students and your progress has been excellent this year.
Have a great time in Turkey and Greece.
I’ve improved my English a lot this course, I know, but I have to admit that I had a lucky break meeting you and your blog. It’s an excellent way to help your students, so don’t give it up, please. I feel sorry for people who haven’t wanted to make the most of it.
I’m sure we’ll miss your classes next course. I hope you have a good time in Turkey as well and, we might see over there, who knows?
I got my days wrong - I actually leave next Thursday the 7th. I'll be 3 nights in Istanbul, which means I'll be heading to the coast on Sunday. I don't know if that coincides with your dates.
If it's he case we can meet up for whatever they drink there. :-)
As long as I have students like you, I suppose I will keep the blog going.:-)
Vocabulary:
To spot
Freezing - To froze
To worse - To get worse
To hatch
To give sb a lift somewhere
A sighseer - To go sightseen
A disease
A squid
To take sb up on an offer
Sand
To catch the imagination
To have a secure life - To secure
To be willing to do sth
To blow
Clogged - __
To flush - To spray with water
Stranded - Something that has been left somewhere
Wildlife - Animals and plants that live in the wild
To pull through - To recover or survive
Light-hearted - Something humorous, not really serious
To mistake - To confuse or misunderstand something
I think that the story of the penguin is interesting, but of course it's quite dangerous for its health to live in a place that is not its natural habitat.
See you on Wednesday
This particular penguin which got lost, of course was a big notice, because is out of the rule.
In the video it seemed very tired.
Most animals have an inbuilt sat-nav but occasionally it can go wrong. I find birds, such as swallows and swifts, that visit us in the summer, pretty amazing. Apparently, they return to the same area every year.
It is extremely rare but not impossible for some animals to lose their way. I love penguins because they have cute features like the male which takes care of the egg, the couples which recognise each other among hundreds of other penguins, and they are good team workers. They can control their heart rate frequency and they breathe for long periods of time under water, up to 20 minutes. They're very strong/tough birds.
This particular penguin which got lost, of course was big news, because it is an exception to the rule.
In the video, it seemed very tired.
Yes,I saw this thinghs in a magazines, and I think the Human should take caree whit the world because we are provocate not only kill many animals too ours dead...Vocabulary is:
To saw,firedness,Worse,born but whit h I dont know, dead, squid,to take an offert, sea,to self, to be wonderfull,to blow, twice again,have you been eaten, I have been saw to the Shopies king only three or four time since I came here.
It's good to see you writing in the blog.
I read the text and saw the video. I think that penguins will die because humans create pollution. All the glaciers will melt because a consequence of so much pollution is that temperatures rise, and the polar animals won't be able to survive.
Yes,I saw these things in magazines, and I think humans should take care of the world because we not only will kill many animals, we also risk our future.
It's a difficult text for you to read. All the vocabulary comes from the article.
You can find the answers if you read other students' comments.