WELLINGTON: Happy Feet, the emperor penguin who lost his sense of direction and ended up in New Zealand, 3 000km from his Antarctic home, was released back into the Southern Ocean yesterday.
He slid down a specially constructed hydro-slide off the back of a fishing research ship six days after it sailed from Wellington, where he had been nursed back to health in the city zoo after being found starving and disoriented on a North Island beach in June.
Happy Feet needed some gentle encouragement to leave the safety of his crate that has been his home for six days,” zoo vet Lisa Argilla said.
“He slid down his specially designed penguin slide backwards, but once he hit the water, he spared no time in diving off away from the boat.” – Sapa-dpa