One of the Calgary Zoo’s 23 Gentoo penguins, Fiona, has died after the bird received an emergency surgical procedure to remove a foreign object from its digestive system .
The penguin, which was on exhibit in an outdoor enclosure, ingested a nearly foot long wooden stick on December 2, 2012.
“A keeper noticed right away that she (the Gentoo) wasn’t eating right, like she regularly would, and her behaviour was off,” says Jamie Dorgan, general curator of the Calgary Zoo. “Our veterinary staff took her up to the health centre and we found that she had a stick in her digestive tract.”
The stick was surgically removed and Fiona appeared to be recovering from the procedure.
“We do know that penguins can be curious animals and they like to pick things up. They compete over nesting materials and a stick would potentially be that,” says Dorgan. “We’re not sure why this penguin would take in a stick as large as it was.”
“Our keepers scour the exhibit before they let the birds out. We’re picking up any (debris) that we might see.”
Eight days after the surgery, on December 10, the penguin was found dead in the enclosure.
The cause of the penguin’s death was determined to be a secondary complication from consuming the stick. A necropsy found signs of internal bleeding through the bird’s digestive tract.
The loss of Fiona is the first penguin death at the Calgary Zoo. The Zoo’s penguin plunge exhibit opened in February of 2012.
