First known penguin MRI a success

USA - When middle-aged penguin Fluffy arrived at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center in late July, he was having trouble balancing, standing and waddling.

The male penguin’s radiograph and blood work from his visit to the University's Raptor Center didn't identified the cause of his illness, so veterinarian Micky Trent ordered the next step in diagnostic testing: a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

Ancient penguin history on the agenda this Australian Antarctic season

AUSTRALIA - This Antarctic summer, Australian Antarctic Division seabird ecologist Dr Barbara Wienecke will head a "penguin archaeology" project on abandoned Adélie penguin sites to try to find out whether the birds’ diet may have changed over the past few thousand years.

The race to save the African penguin is on

Five penguins. Seven days. One race against time.

SOUTH AFRICA - Since the turn of the 20th century we have lost 99% of the entire African penguin population due to the decline of fish, oil spills, loss of habitat and imbalanced ecosystems.

Running from 7 to 13 October, the Penguin Run project celebrates the perilous journey undertaken by five African penguins. The birds have been fitted with satellite tracking devices and will take to the high seas in a race to bulk up ahead of their fast approaching moulting season, where they will lose over half of their body weight.