By Ed Chatterton and James Vukmirovic via SWNS
A baby penguin that developed a limp has found her waddle again after zookeepers nursed her back to health – using a homemade baby bouncer.
Flop the Humboldt penguin was born at Dudley Zoo back in April but her mother passed away shortly after and her dad started to leave the nest for long periods.
Zookeepers were forced to step into hand rear the chick and moved her to a juvenile isolation area but noticed she then began developing a limp.
Vets gave her anti-inflammatories and pain relief but less than 24 hours later the animal could no longer support her own weight.
Blood tests revealed a reaction to an infection and she was given further medication.
Flop started to lose her appetite and became withdrawn, sparking concern among staff that she may not survive.
But keepers came with the ingenious idea of a baby bouncer to help keep her upright and also made a tailor-made treadmill by adapting a baby walker for her.
The zoo’s head of birds Nicola Wright said: “She started off life just fine, but we’ve been hand rearing her for a little while and she developed a bit of a limp and then, within 24 hours, she was completely off her feet and couldn’t move at all.
“We took her to the vet and did X-Rays and got bloods and what was identified was that she was fighting an infection.
“So we started her off on antibiotics and, from then on, it’s been trials and tribulations of trying to get her to use her feet again.”
Wright said the team had tried a number of different ways to get Flop back on her feet, as well as getting her back to a normal way of living.
She said: “Because she was such a young bird, she was still growing at the time when this happened, so the first part of the battle was actually getting enough food into her so that she could take her medication and she didn’t get too stunted in her growth.
“After that, once the infection was cleared up, it was a case of trying to get her to regain the use of her legs, so we tried, and these were all homemade, a baby bouncer, a treadmill and a stroller, like what you put a toddler in when they’re learning to walk.
“We tried doing all sorts of penguin-friendly versions of all that and, ultimately, what did it was Flop and her attitude as she never gave up at any point.
“All in all, it’s been her effort that has got her to this stage and if she had given up at any point, we wouldn’t be at this stage now.
“The big hope is that she will be out and about with all the other boys and girls in here, join the colony and be fully productive in penguin society.
“It’s just fantastic news for us as it’s gone from something that started off very bleakly to a fantastic happy ending for us all.”
Dudley Zoo said Flop had been unable to digest large volumes of fish at first as all of her weight was on her front, leaving her unable to stand.
A spokesperson added: “Keepers began giving Flop lots of feeds with smaller quantities, which meant coming back to the zoo around 10pm each evening to give her the final feed of the day.
“They also had to resort to force feeding her to ensure she completed her course of antibiotics and any weight loss was kept to a minimum.
“In a bid to try and take the pressure off her internal organs, which would aid her digestion and get her standing upright, staff came up with the equivalent of a baby bouncer, which they handmade for her.
“Every morning keepers placed Flop into the bouncer to be fed, allowing her feet to just touch the floor.
“They hoped this would get her used to being upright and start to engage her feet and hips, leaving her in it for supervised periods of time, while they fed the rest of the hand-reared youngsters.
“They also constructed a unique ‘treadmill’ and adapted a baby walker for her, and although they both allowed her to stand in an upright position, to begin with she wouldn’t try to walk – not even for the lure of a tasty fish.”
Soon she started to use her feet to try to push herself up, but she still couldn’t lift her head, instead lifting her hips to slide on her tummy across the floor.
After consulting with the Toronto Zoo in Canada, which had dealt with a penguin with a similar issue, the keepers were able to provide better care for Flop.
She began gaining weight and was reintroduced to the isolation area in Penguin Bay for short, supervised swims.
Within days, she started lifting her head and standing upright without extra help.
A zoo spokesperson added: “This made a huge difference to her recovery and within days, she started to lift her head and stumble forward and eventually she began standing upright all by herself.
“The team brought in an animal physiotherapist, giving the bird team a series of exercises they could do with Flop to gradually build her strength.
“And just over a month later, Flop was able to spend her first whole day by herself in the isolation area with the other juveniles, where she currently remains before they all make a gradual return to the main colony.
“She will always be smaller and lighter than the rest of our penguins, and the slight hunch in her back will probably never completely disappear.
“But thanks to her determination and the dedication of our bird keepers, Flop, our very special penguin has found her waddle and we can’t wait to watch how she adapts to any challenges that come her way in the future.”
