WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Happy Feet is now a creature of the Internet age.
The wayward emperor penguin, discovered on a New Zealand beach six weeks ago, will soon be returned to the wild — but not before he picked up an online following of more than 120,000. That’s how many unique visitors have logged onto a Web camera monitoring his every move. Thousands more are expected to follow the updates after he’s released in coming weeks, with feeds posted online from a GPS tracker attached to his back.
The penguin was found June 20, far from his Antarctic feeding grounds. He was moved four days later to the Wellington Zoo after becoming ill from eating sand, which he likely mistook for snow. He has since gained weight and been given a clean bill of health to return to the ocean.
The zoo raised $10,000 through a public campaign to cover the costs of housing Happy Feet, spokeswoman Kate Baker said. It has also raised about $8,000 so far for returning him to the sub-Antarctic ocean south of New Zealand — a trip that could cost up to $30,000.
The GPS tracker unit will probably come off when Happy Feet molts in April, if not sooner, though the penguin has also been fitted with a microchip that will be triggered if he roams near monitored colonies in Antarctica, Baker said.
