Risky operation for "greedy" penguin

UK - It looks like Happy Feet isn't the only penguin eating things that penguins shouldn't. Two-year-old Humboldt penguin Lola at the National Seal Sanctuary in Gweek had to undergo a risky operation after swallowing a hair grip that had fallen into her enclosure.

The Falmouth Packet reported that Sanctuary staff were alerted to the problem when Lola, who is renowned for her greedy appetite, refused to eat her fish. An X-ray at the vet's revealed a metal object in Lola's stomach, and meant staff had to make a tough decision about whether the vets should operate to remove it - a complicated procedure.

Tamara, head of the Sanctuary's animal care team, told The Falmouth Packet that staff were worried about how Lola would cope without her fellow penguins, but the bird's confident and gregarious nature gave them confidence that she would recover quickly.

"If there was ever a bird that would survive this sort of operation, we knew it would be Lola," she said.

And their confidence was well placed. After the operation and an overnight stay at the vet's, Lola returned to the Sanctuary where she was put in quarantine and received further treatment from the animal care team. Now she's back in the pool with her penguin pals, much to the delight of staff.

Attraction manager Sarah told The Falmouth Packet, “Lola was ecstatic to be back with the other penguins. They all flapped their wings and brayed loudly.”

Source
Emergency operation for greedy penguin at seal sanctuary, 29 August 2011, Falmouth Packet

Portly penguins with "guilty conscience" avoid the scales

Humboldt penguins at the National
Seal Sanctuary.
Photo by MortimerCat2010.
Some rights reserved.

UK - I certainly avoid getting on the scales post-Christmas and New Year (especially this year after a week of American-style breakfasts in New York), and it seems the podgy Humboldt penguins at the National Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, Cornwall, feel the same way.

Since the six penguins arrived at the sanctuary last April they have been piling on the pounds, so the penguin team would like to record their weights and use this information to control their food intake. But even though the scales are camouflaged under the sandy floor of the birds' enclosure, it is proving difficult to trick the clever birds to get onto them.

Jenna Blacow, penguin expert at the sanctuary, said, "Penguins are sensitive birds and very skittish, so it would be far too stressful for them for us to chase them about and catch them by hand in order to weigh them."

"We have trained the seals to come out of the pool and sit on specially designed scales, and we are hoping we will be able to train our penguins to do the same, but so far it seems they have a guilty conscience about getting on the scales!"

"The penguins are smarter than we gave them credit for. They know we have hidden the scales and are stretching out their necks over them to grab the fish from our hands."

The penguin team will persevere, however, said Ms Blacow.

"Wild creatures are often wary when they are faced with something new, so if we keep trying hopefully we will succeed in getting them on the scales when they realise there is nothing to be afraid of."

In the meantime, the penguins will be hand fed and monitored carefully, and kept active with enrichment activities such as "penguin football".

Source
Podgy penguins on New Year diet, 8 February 2011, Gweek Seal Sanctuary