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Happy Feet (penguin)

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Happy Feet
SpeciesEmperor penguin
SexMale
Years active2011
Known forArriving in New Zealand

Happy Feet was an emperor penguin who in June 2011 arrived at Peka Peka Beach in the Kāpiti Coast District of New Zealand's North Island, which is one of the northernmost recorded locations in the world for an emperor penguin. To get there, he travelled about 3,200 kilometres from Antarctica. He is the second ever emperor penguin to be found in New Zealand, with the last being in 1967. He was named after the 2006 film with the same name which features emperor penguins. After filling his stomach with sand, he was transported to Wellington Zoo and was given a 50 per cent chance of survival. The zoo removed the sand and kept him for 10 weeks to recover.

Happy Feet was released in the Southern Ocean on 4 September 2011, about 79 kilometres (49 mi) north of Campbell Island, at 53 degrees south. He was fitted with a GPS tracker so that his location could be tracked by the public, but it fell silent on 9 September. It is not known why this occurred. Possible explanations are that the tracker stopped working or had simply fallen off, or that Happy Feet had been eaten by a predator. John Cockrem of Massey University said at the time that it was "highly likely" that he was alive, as predators are not that common at the location where he disappeared.

The story of Happy Feet received worldwide media attention, with over 600 media outlets covering it. He raised the public's awareness of wildlife, and for some time got more media attention than Prime Minister John Key. Happy Feet was named Time magazine's runner-up 2011 animal of the year, and a children's book about him was published by Penguin Books in late 2011.

Arrival

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Happy Feet was first found in the early afternoon of 20 June 2011 at Paraparaumu Beach in the Kāpiti Coast District of New Zealand's North Island. A few hours later he was found again at Peka Peka Beach, a few kilometres north of Paraparaumu.[1] To get to the country, he swam about 3,200 kilometres from Antarctica.[2] This was only a few kilometres south of the world's most northern recorded emperor penguin.[3] It is not known why he swam so far, but it has been speculated that it was either because he was sick, because he got stuck in a current,[4] or because he was a 'straggler'—a wandering animal. The behaviour of wandering is believed to have evolved as a way to start new colonies by chance. Almost all stragglers die in the process, but some do setup new colonies.[5] He was the second recorded emperor penguin in New Zealand,[6] with the last being found in 1967, at Southland's Oreti Beach.[7] He was named after the 2006 film Happy Feet, which features emperor penguins.[8]

When Happy Feet was found at Peka Peka Beach by a Kāpiti resident while walking her dog, she notified the Department of Conservation (DOC) Waikanae office. A ranger subsequently went to take a look at the bird, who was a juvenile with a height of about one metre.[9][10] Happy Feet was reported as being "initially bright-eyed, alert, and in apparent good condition",[11] so conservationists did not want to intervene.[11][12][13] Hundreds to thousands of people went to visit him at the beach, including people who work for the news, and school students. To protect Happy Feet, security guards were placed at the beach by the Kāpiti Coast District Council, and the beach was closed off to vehicles.[2][1] A cordon was also placed around Happy Feet, originally at 5 metres and later 50 metres. It was also made sure that he had sea access at all times.[14] Several vets and a penguin expert from Massey University went to take a look at Happy Feet.[2][15]

At the beach Happy Feet had been eating sand and sticks. He had mistaken the sand for snow,[16][17] which emperor penguins normally eat and use to cool down—something that Happy Feet was attempting to do.[18][17] It is believed that he had never seen sticks before and he mistook them for fish.[19] By the morning of 24 June he was lethargic, dehydrated, overheated, had problems with swallowing, occasionally attempted to spit sand,[18][11] and was stressed due to the relative warmth of New Zealand's climate, which was at about 10 degrees Celsius.[15] Because of this, at the noon of the same day, Happy Feet was placed in a chiller and was transported to Wellington Zoo by Te Papa and DOC.[17][18]

Healthcare

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After his arrival, the zoo anaesthetised him and took x-rays,[4] which showed that his stomach was full of sand,[18] about 3 kilograms.[6] His throat was also full of sand, and he was given a 50 per cent chance of survival.[17] There was the possibility that the sand could have ruptured his stomach.[16] Surgery was considered to be a 'worse case scenario' due to the potential dangers of it.[16][20] The zoo pumped water into his throat to flush the sand out of his oesophagus,[18][16] and put him on an intravenous drip because he was dehydrated.[4] Overnight, Happy Feet passed some sand, meaning that some had gone through his digestive system.[21] The next day (27 June), at 11am, the zoo started flushing the sand out of his stomach.[18][16] But about 8–10 handfuls of sand remained. This was watched by about 100 people through the operating theatre's window.[16]

On 27 June, a two-to-three-hour[20][22] operation was performed, which involved an endoscopy to see how much sand was in his stomach.[23][22] Sand, wood, stones and netting was also removed from his stomach.[22] He was given oily foods and laxatives to help him pass the remaining sand.[24] On 28 June about half of the sand was removed in an operation.[25] His fourth and final[26] operation was performed on 2 July, to flush out more stomach contents.[27][28]

Happy Feet was determined to be about three years old,[4] and male.[29] He had a bed of ice to sleep on, and his room was kept at 8 degrees Celsius.[12] He also had a saltwater pool, which he began swimming in in August.[30] The gastroenterologist John Wyeth, who specialises on humans, was brought in to help with Happy Feet.[31] The English actor Stephen Fry visited Happy Feet in his room after filming with the zoo's chimpanzees for a BBC programme.[32][33] The penguin was in Wellington for 10 weeks.[32]

Release

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External videos
Happy Feet being released to sea
video icon https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/46520/happy-feet-departs

On about 27 June a penguin advisory committee was formed to make a decision on what to do with Happy Feet. It had experts from Wellington Zoo, DOC, Te Papa and Massey University.[22] They debated on whether Happy Feet should be released or kept captive. Arguments for captivity were that releasing him would cause him a lot of stress, that he posed a risk of introducing viruses to colonies in Antarctica, and the fact that he may not find the colony that he came from. The problems with captivity was that New Zealand does not have the facilities to provide the climate conditions he needs. California does, but moving him there would cause him stress. Another problem was that New Zealand does not house any emperor penguins.[34] If he was moved to the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch for example, he would be isolated.[22] The media had also suggested that he be euthanised or released back to Peka Peka Beach.[14]

On 29 June the committee decided that Happy Feet would be released into the Southern Ocean after recovering; Juvenile penguins are often found there. Releasing him on Antarctica is illegal without a permit due to the Antarctic Treaty[35] saying that precautions must be taken to prevent the introduction of micro-organisms (such as viruses).[36] Happy Feet could have caught a disease on his way to New Zealand, and releasing him back in Antarctica could introduce it there.[17] It was believed that if he was released in sub-Antarctic waters and swam to Antarctica on his own, the disease would disappear naturally.[19] In late July the zoo estimated that it would cost about $30,000 to return Happy Feet to the wild. They originally planned on moving Happy Feet to Bluff, in the southern South Island, via air or truck, then sailing past Stewart Island and then releasing him.[37]

On the day before he left the zoo, a "Haere Ra Happy Feet" party was held, where visitors could sign a farewell card and leave nice messages for him. Visitors were also encouraged to dress up in black and white, and to make donations.[38][8][26] Over 1,700 people attended.[10] Before he left the zoo, a microchip transponder was put under his skin, and a satellite transmitter was glued to and cable tied on to the feathers of his back.[3][8] It was designed to fall off when he moulted.[39]

Happy Feet left Wellington Zoo on 29 August 2011 in a 'travel crate', designed by Lisa Argilla, so that he would be cold and comfortable as he travelled out to sea, on NIWA's RV Tangaroa,[7][40] which was doing a fisheries survey.[7][10] On the journey he was given fish to eat, and was kept cool with 60 buckets of ice.[10] Happy Feet was released on 4 September 2011 at 10.30 am about 79 kilometres (49 mi) north of Campbell Island,[41][40] which is 53 degrees south[42] and about 1,250 kilometres south of Peka Peka Beach.[3] He slid off a 'penguin slide' made for him using a tarpaulin[40][7] at the ship's stern.[43] Happy Feet was 'reluctant' to leave his crate[44] and needed a gentle push down the slide. After sliding into the water he resurfaced about two metres behind the boat, looked back at the people on board the ship, and then went back under the water.[45] The slide was one of two options for releasing him, the other being to lower him down to the sea in a smaller boat, where a worker would put him into the water. This option was not used due to the sea conditions.[43]

After he left the ship, the public was able to track his location on a website online.[43] The tracker said that five days after release, he had moved south-east by total of about 113 km. At 8 am on 9 September 2011 the transmitter went silent,[3] meaning that it had not gone above water since then.[39] It is not known why this happened.[3] It either fell off, had simply stopped working, or Happy Feet had been eaten by a predator.[46][47][6] Associate Professor John Cockrem of Massey University said on 13 September that it was "highly likely" that Happy Feet was still alive at that time, as he was not south enough to encounter predators such as leopard seals. He believed that the tracker had simply fallen off.[46][47][48] At the time it was also speculated that recent solar flares had caused transmission problems.[39]

While Happy Feet was still in a critical condition, economist Gareth Morgan offered to take the penguin and a DOC minder on a Russian icebreaker ship that was going to the Ross Sea, to Scott Base, for the "Our Far South" expedition, which he had organised.[23][49][50] This was suggested to him by his granddaughter, who was visiting Wellington Zoo at the time of Happy Feet's first operation.[23] The 30-day expedition started in early 2012. Morgan said that they would try to find Happy Feet, by using the chip that was implanted into him.[51]

Cost

[edit]

Over $30,000 had been spent on Happy Feet by September.[46] Wellington Zoo raised $29,000 by the time he left the zoo.[26] Happy Feet caused the zoo's number of visitors in July 2011 to be 50 per cent higher than July 2010. The Sunday Star Times wrote in July that this would likely pay for the zoo's costs for Happy Feet's recovery.[52] On 1 July Morgan, who called Happy Feet a "bloody expensive bird",[32] started a campaign to fundraise for the cost of Happy Feet's care and food. Morgan matched every dollar donated to the campaign.[27] Happy Feet's transmitter was paid for by Morgan.[51]

The snack manufacturer Bluebird Foods, who uses penguins in their advertisements,[53] announced in July that they would donate five cents towards Happy Feet for every packet of "Kiwi As" chips sold until November. They expected to sell 400,000 packets, which would have resulted in a donation of $20,000.[54][55] The aquaculture firm New Zealand King Salmon donated 100 kg of salmon smolt to the zoo for Happy Feet.[54] The salmon that the zoo did pay for cost $10,000.[32]

Happy Feet arrived at a time when public funding for DOC was being cut. The money spent on Happy Feet's recovery also acted as a way to increase the New Zealand public's awareness of birds and wildlife due to the amount of media attention Happy Feet got. Kevin Hackwell of Forest & Bird said that Wellington Zoo would be "damned if they do [help Happy Feet] and damned if they don't. They certainly would have been criticised if they hadn't helped."[52] It was argued by The Dominion Post that the $30,000 spent on Happy Feet could have instead been spent on restoring a wetlant or forest remnant, which would help several birds instead of just one. Rehabilitating one bird would unlikely help the species.[56]

Media coverage

[edit]

Happy Feet received worldwide media coverage,[57] with over 600 media outlets reporting on the story.[1] This included from the countries Australia, Britain, Canada, the United States, China, Canada and Sweden.[16][2][58] For some time Happy Feet received more New Zealand media attention than Prime Minister John Key; Key said that he did not envy the penguin.[53] Happy Feet got much more attention than the only other recorded emperor penguin in New Zealand, who arrived in 1967.[59] Happy Feet raised the public's awareness of wildlife.[52][46]

On 30 June TV3[45] set up a webcam for the public to watch him eat and sleep and live in the zoo,[10][44] which had been watched by 312 thousand individuals.[11] At one point several viewers phoned TV3 because they thought that Happy Feet had died, but he was just asleep.[60]

Legacy

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During a Parliament question time in October 2011, Green MP Gareth Hughes asked the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Phil Heatley, if it was possible that Happy Feet had been killed by a trawler. Heatley replied by saying that the fishing industry was not to blame.[61][62] In his valedictory speech near the end of the 50th Parliament in July 2014, Heatley said this was his favourite question time in his 15 years in Parliament.[61][63]

In November 2011 a statue of Happy Feet was unveiled at the Coastlands Shopping Centre in Paraparaumu, to fundraise for the construction of the Coastlands Aquatic Centre. Wellington Zoo nurse Sarah Holleman, who worked with Happy Feet, helped with the sculpture.[64][65] The statue was later moved to the aquatic centre, and Happy Feet became its mascot.[66][67]

The Guardian reported that people had planned on creating a documentary about him.[68] Christine Wilton, the woman who discovered Happy Feet at the beach and reported it to DOC, wrote a children's book about Happy Feet in 2011.[69] In late 2011, Penguin Books published a children's book about the penguin.[70]

In December 2011, Time magazine named Happy Feet as the runner-up 2011 animal of the year, behind the dog Cairo, who helped with the killing of Osama bin Laden.[71] Happy Feet boosted votes for the emperor penguin in the annual Bird of the Year competition. It ranked 12th.[72] This was the first year that the emperor penguin was in the competition.[73]

A juvenile royal penguin that washed up in New Zealand in 2013 after spending an estimated 12 months at sea was named Happy Feet junior. It died at Wellington Zoo.[74]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Miskelly et al. 2012, p. 117.
  2. ^ a b c d "Expert to visit royal penguin visitor". NZPA. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e Miskelly et al. 2012, p. 120.
  4. ^ a b c d "Happy Feet faces battle for survival". NZPA. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Happy Feet may be setting up a colony". The Dominion Post. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Concern mounts for 'missing' penguin Happy Feet". BBC News. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Happy Feet sets sail for Southern Ocean". RNZ. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "It's 'haere ra' to Happy Feet". The New Zealand Herald. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Royal visitor seen at Kapiti beach". NZPA. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Happy Feet begins journey home from NZ". NBC News. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  11. ^ a b c d Miskelly et al. 2012, p. 118.
  12. ^ a b "New Zealand: Emperor penguin recovering after surgery". BBC News. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Happy Feet the penguin released into Southern Ocean after New Zealand trip". The Guardian. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  14. ^ a b Miskelly et al. 2012, p. 119.
  15. ^ a b "Concerns for New Zealand's wayward penguin". Phys.org. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Emperor penguin to undergo further procedure". RNZ. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Penguin has 50 per cent chance of survival". The New Zealand Herald. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  18. ^ a b c d e f "Happy Feet undergoes second surgery". The Dominion Post. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  19. ^ a b "Happy Feet had never seen sticks before - expert". The New Zealand Herald. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Dr Lisa Argilla - veterinary resident at Wellington Zoo". RNZ. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  21. ^ "Second penguin operation a success". NZPA. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d e "Emperor penguin perkier after operation". The Dominion Post. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  23. ^ a b c "Sick emperor penguin causes flap at zoo". The New Zealand Herald. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Penguin survives stomach surgery". NZPA. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Happy Feet 'stable' following operation". Otago Daily Times. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  26. ^ a b c "Black tie send off at zoo for Happy Feet". 29 August 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  27. ^ a b "Happy Feet recovering after fourth surgery". New Zealand Press Association. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  28. ^ "Happy Feet still under the weather". NZPA. 3 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Happy Feet a male penguin". RNZ. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  30. ^ "'Perky' Happy Feet set to swim home". The New Zealand Herald. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Human specialist helps with penguin". NZPA. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  32. ^ a b c d "Penguin Happy Feet becomes a Wellington celebrity - 150 years of news". The Dominion Post. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  33. ^ "Stephen Fry meets Happy Feet". The Dominion Post. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  34. ^ "Experts divided on penguin's future". The New Zealand Herald. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  35. ^ "Happy Feet to be released into sea". The New Zealand Herald. 29 June 2011.
  36. ^ Buchanan, Kelly (7 July 2011). "Happy Feet Not So Happy | In Custodia Legis". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  37. ^ "$30k bill to get Happy Feet back home". NZPA. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  38. ^ "Last hurrah for Happy Feet". NZPA. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  39. ^ a b c "New Zealand penguin Happy Feet may have been eaten". The Daily Telegraph. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  40. ^ a b c "Goodbye Happy Feet – We wish you well". NIWA. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  41. ^ "Lost penguin Happy Feet freed south of New Zealand". BBC News. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  42. ^ "Happy Feet heading home at end of month". The New Zealand Herald. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  43. ^ a b c "Happy Feet ready to ship out". The New Zealand Herald. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  44. ^ a b "Happy Feet, Lost Emperor Penguin, Swims for Antarctic Home". ABC News. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  45. ^ a b "Wayward penguin released south of New Zealand". NBC News. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  46. ^ a b c d "Hope yet for Happy Feet fans". Stuff. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  47. ^ a b "It's a miracle! Happy Feet (probably) alive". The New Zealand Herald. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  48. ^ "It's a miracle! Happy Feet (probably) alive". APNZ. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  49. ^ "Ailing penguin Happy Feet offered a trip home". NZPA. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  50. ^ "Happy Feet offered home run". Sunday News. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  51. ^ a b "Richlister's mission for Happy Feet". The New Zealand Herald. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  52. ^ a b c "Happy Feet rated priceless publicity despite costs". Sunday Star Times. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  53. ^ a b "Bluebird to chip in for lucky penguin". The New Zealand Herald. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  54. ^ a b "Buy our chips and we'll get Happy Feet home - Bluebird". The New Zealand Herald. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  55. ^ "Bluebird to fundraise for penguin rescue". The Dominion Post. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  56. ^ "Happy Feet, unhappy ending?". The Dominion Post. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  57. ^ "Happy Feet feels right at home". NZPA. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  58. ^ "Bluebird's the word for penguin return". The New Zealand Herald. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  59. ^ "Long time between royal penguin visits". The New Zealand Herald. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  60. ^ "Wayward penguin followed by thousands on webcam". CBC News. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  61. ^ a b "Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers". New Zealand Parliament. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  62. ^ "Fashion features as MPs farewelled". RNZ. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  63. ^ "Departing MPs' memorable moments". The New Zealand Herald. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  64. ^ "Penguin statue 'captures Happy Feet essence'". Special Broadcasting Service. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  65. ^ "Happy Feet sculpture for the Kapiti Coast". The New Zealand Herald. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  66. ^ "Coastlands Aquatic Centre celebrates 10 years". Kāpiti Coast District Council. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  67. ^ "Happy Feet sculpture for Kapiti mall". The Dominion Post. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  68. ^ "Happy Feet the penguin's tracker falls silent". The Guardian. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  69. ^ "Happy Feet discoverer writes book". The Dominion Post. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  70. ^ "Happy Feet's legacy in print". The Dominion Post. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  71. ^ "Happy Feet Time's (runner-up) animal of 2011". APNZ. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  72. ^ "Pukeko streaks home in Bird of the Year poll". Forest and Bird. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  73. ^ "Underbird ahead in the polls". Forest & Bird. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  74. ^ "Sad end for lost penguin in New Zealand". ABC News. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2024.

References

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