Wellington:
Veterinary staff at a New Zealand Zoo removed sticks and debris from an Emperor penguin's stomach on Monday after it was recently found washed up on one of the country's beaches.
The penguin ate sticks and sand while stranded on Peka Peka beach, which is more than three thousand kilometers from its Antarctic home, local media reported. This is a far contrast from a penguin's usual diet of snow which they use for hydration and to keep cool.
When first spotted on Peka Peka beach on June 20, the penguin appeared healthy, but on Friday conservationists moved the penguin to Wellington Zoo after it grew noticeably lethargic.
On Monday the penguin underwent an endoscopy procedure at the capital's zoo to remove the sticks from its stomach.
The Zoo staff says the penguin remains in a critical condition.
They're still waiting for DNA results to determine the bird's sex.
Local media reported millionaire businessman Gareth Morgan has offered to take the bird home by giving it a berth on a Russian icebreaker ship making an expedition to the Ross Sea in Antarctica in February.
It's the first time a wild Emperor penguin has been spotted in New Zealand in 44 years.