Happy Feet [Possibly] eaten

Javan Rhino

Javan Rhino

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
The emperor penguin 'Happy Feet' that washed up in New Zealand and was treated and rehabilitated by staff at Wellington Zoo before being released back into the wild has, possibly, been eaten (though it is possible the transmitter has just fallen off his flipper).

Fears Happy Feet the penguin may have been eaten | Mail Online

What I really find odd is the mentallity of the Daily Mail readers that are all saying 'why was he released, why did the zoo release him. He should have lived his life in the zoo or an animal sanctuary.' All this from the people that say 'animals shouldn't live in zoos' and 'all animals should be set free.'

Personally, I think it boils down to this:

Zoo's can't win. If Wellington had kept him, it would have been cruel he was snatched from the wild and will live out his entire life in 'confinement.' Then, when something bad happens in the wild suddenly the zoo are stupid to have released it!
 
Tonights news did a report on this and if I remember correctly they think with all probablity that the transmitter as fallen off as they said there were no natural predators in the waters where happy feet was last tracked too
Hope everythings alright but we will have to wait and see if the transmitter is picked up by a satelite in the future.
As for zoos it's always been the same they will never win no matter what they do.
 
It would have made a bite sized snack for some of the squid believed to live around NZ from what I have heard in the past.

However on a more 'conservational report' for the cameras, the transmitter fell off. ;) :p
 
Happy Feet frolics in Caroline Bay

Happy Feet Found In Caroline Bay | Stuff.co.nz

Happy feet has turned up on Caroline Bay in Timaru.

Antarctic emperor penguin Happy Feet has been located at Caroline Bay, with his satellite transmitter coming back to life early on Saturday after he had been lost at sea for more than a year.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) has confirmed the penguin, which rose to fame in 2011, is back on the grid, with Wellington Zoo making an urgent phone call to DOC after its satellite transmitter tracked it to Caroline Bay.

DOC ranger Honor Perch said Happy Feet was located with the little blue penguins nesting at Caroline Bay.

The emperor penguin was found on a Kapiti Coast beach in June 2011. He was re-released into the wild that September but his locator beacon failed a week later.

Word has quickly spread of Happy Feet's nesting site on the south side of Caroline Bay, forcing it to be closed off from the public. Police were guarding the cordon overnight.

DOC is under fire for failing to act earlier after it received a call from a member of the public last week.

"We did have a call from a gentleman known to us who claimed he had seen an emperor penguin at Caroline Bay," Ms Perch said.

"The man does call us on a regular basis. Last month he claimed he had seen a moa at Peel Forest but on reflection we should have followed up his call."

Happy Feet's cavorting on the rocks with the little blue penguins was thought to have triggered the transmitter. Emperor penguins are the tallest of all penguin species, reaching up to 122 centimetres in height, while little blue penguins are the smallest, growing up to 33 cm.

The presence of the little blues probably attracted Happy Feet to Caroline Bay, Ms Perch said.

"The emperor penguin is a long way from its natural home of Antarctica and it has probably been a while since he has had any company. Happy Feet will probably be reluctant to leave his new family any time soon."

Wellington Zoo staff were ecstatic the penguin had come back, veterinarian Sandy Bird said.

"We all had our own horrible versions of what may have happened to him.

"I worried Happy Feet had become a Happy Meal.

"If only there was an iceberg floating past Dunedin again, we could have helicoptered Happy Feet out to it like they did with Shrek the sheep."

Timaru District Mayor Janie Annear said the council were looking into converting the Century Pool site to an enclosure for Happy Feet.

"If that happens the little blue penguins will also be moved with it.

"It could become a major tourist attraction to rival Oamaru's blue penguin colony. Imagine the fun they would have playing on the old hydroslide."

Despite today being a public holiday an urgent council meeting would be held at noon, she said.
Click to expand...
 
Chlidonias said:
I like the video footage of a stuffed penguin being shuffled across the beach by torchlight.


Yes, it is April the first in New Zealand.....
Click to expand...

I can't watch the video here. The article looks legit. It's a silly joke to make if it really is an April Fools joke, because Happy Feet is well loved. It's almost as bad as me telling my neighbours that I think I saw their long-lost son in the supermarket as a joke.
 
the article does look legit. But check out the names in the article: DOC ranger Honor Perch, veterinarian Sandy Bird.....
 
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