New Zealand's lost penguin sets sail

A wayward emperor penguin that washed up on a New Zealand beach 3000 kilometres from his natural Antarctic waters has finally begun his long journey home.
The giant bird, dubbed Happy Feet, has been the star attraction of the Wellington Zoo for the past 10 weeks as staff nursed the starving bird back to health.
He set sail on board the New Zealand fisheries vessel Tangaroa on Monday, travelling in a custom-made insulated crate with his own veterinary team in attendance.
A contingent of media was at the dock to bid him farewell on Monday night, but the relatively quiet departure was in contrast to the scenes at Wellington Zoo on Sunday, when thousands of well-wishers turned out to bid him farewell at the animal hospital where he has spent two months recuperating.
The juvenile male will be released into the Southern Ocean four days into the Tangaroa's voyage, where the hope is he will rejoin other emperor penguins and eventually make his way back to Antarctica.
Veterinarian Lisa Argilla, credited with saving the penguin, accompanied him on the ship as it left Wellington harbour.
She told reporters Happy Feet, who has captured the heart of New Zealanders and about 300,000 people around the world who followed his recovery on a zoo webcam, would take his chances with the rest of Antarctic marine wildlife when released.
Argilla said he was believed to be the first emperor penguin to be rehabilitated onshore and released back into the wild, and his future could not be guaranteed.
"It's the survival of the fittest out there," she said, admitting that he could be eaten by a whale or hungry seal.
Argilla said he would be released as far south as it was possible for the ship to go at this time of the year, before the southern hemisphere spring.
She admitted it was possible that he could become disoriented again and head north back to New Zealand.
"Hopefully, his internal GPS should turn eventually to the south," she said.
"He might need a day or two to figure it out. Hopefully, he has learned his lesson."
Happy Feet was found on a beach just outside Wellington in mid-June - weak, emaciated and more than 3000 kilometres from the Antarctic colony where he hatched about three-and-a-half years ago.
Only the second emperor penguin ever recorded in New Zealand, he was close to death and needed surgery to remove sand and sticks from his stomach before he could be fattened up.
The bird, which now weighs about 27.5 kilograms, attracted international attention and there are plans for a book and documentary recounting his story.
Every detail of his recovery, from the daily reports of weight gain and his dietary preference for "fish milkshakes" have been eagerly awaited by animal lovers everywhere.
And more than 120,000 people have tracked his progress via a webcam set up in his small, ice-filled room at the zoo.
Argilla, assisted by two staff from the research vessel, will look after the penguin before he is lowered into the icy Southern Ocean, and she will then spend another three weeks aboard the Tangaroa before it returns to Wellington.
Happy Feet has been fitted with a satellite tracker and fans can follow his progress in the wild on the Wellington Zoo website, www.wellingtonzoo.com.