Stumpy set for life with one leg

MAARTEN HOLL/The Dominion Post

HAPPY HOPPING: Stumpy's leg was amputated by zoo vets after it was broken by a predator.

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Hopping around healthy and happy, Stumpy the little blue penguin has learnt to survive on one leg and is ready to face life in the wild.

The adult penguin was brought into Wellington Zoo on January 1 after being found at Eastbourne with an injured right leg. Since then, he has been looked after by vets working at the zoo's animal hospital, The Nest.

He was supposed to have been freed into the ocean near Eastbourne yesterday, but the tsunami alert put paid to that. He is now likely to be freed today.

Vet Francois Lampen said they had no choice but to amputate Stumpy's leg. The vets believed his leg had been broken by a natural predator, and he was distressed and in pain.

He had recovered well from the surgery and Dr Lampen said vets were happy that he would make it in the wild.

"He just needs his flippers to swim in the ocean and catch fish. Out of the water he won't be as mobile."

Penguins were "very hardy and strong" and Stumpy was no exception, he said.

They had amazing memories and could remember where they had been born, and would always find their way back there.

Although Stumpy would be at less of a risk if he was on Matiu/Somes Island in Wellington Harbour than on the mainland, Dr Lampen said it was important to return him to where he was found, as he would try to return there anyway.

Wellington Zoo has also been caring for a lost baby blue penguin found wandering in a playground at Oriental Bay in January.

It was now known as Squidge by the vets, Dr Lampen said, and it was hoped the baby could also soon be returned to the wild. "As a `rehabilitate', you can't get too close to them. It's more important that the animal is returned."

Conservation Department spokesman Peter Simpson said the biggest threats to little blue penguins were dogs and cars.

There were thought to be about 300 breeding pairs on Matiu/Somes but it was difficult to estimate the number around Wellington Harbour. They were most at risk when crossing the road from the beach to their burrows in the hills, and from dogs being walked on beaches.

- © Fairfax NZ News