Listen to August 3rd 2011 to hear more about the penguin “Happy Feet”.
The Emperor Penguin, named “Happy Feet”, left the zoo last night. He is on board the ship, Tangaroa. This ship is used by scientists for studying plants and animals in the sea. It is going south to Campbell Island to check the number of southern blue whiting fish in that area. When the ship has reached about 700km south of New Zealand, Happy Feet will be put into the sea. This will probably be on Friday.
At the moment, Happy Feet is in a cage with ice. There is a GPS tracker glued to his feathers. When he is in the sea, a satellite will follow where he is. You can follow this too on two websites: www.nzemperor.com or www.ourfarsouth.org.
Questions
1. Do you think Happy Feet will return to the Antarctic?
2. Do you think he will be able to look after himself?
3. Why have New Zealand people been so interested in this bird?