Sometimes to solve a problem, you need to look at it from a different perspective.

A baby Humboldt penguin had to be taken into special care by England’s Dudley Zoo bird care team, after her mother died and her father began to ignore her. Flop, who was only a few months old, started developing a limp and after only one day, she was unable to walk.

“We took her to the vet and did X-rays and got bloods and what was identified was that she was fighting an infection,” said Nicola Wright, Dudley Zoo’s head of birds. So, after reaching out to a zoo in Canada for ideas, they came up with a unique solution – use a baby bouncer, which staff made by hand, for feeding Flop.

Flop in her baby bouncer, and below, finally able to walk on her own. Photos by SWNS

By giving Flop smaller amounts of food, while she was standing, she slowly began to eat. The idea was that by letting Flop stand during meals, pressure would be taken off her organs, allowing digestion to be pain-free. And it worked. Flop started trying to use her feet to stand on her own, eventually trying to lift her head up and soon, she was standing on her own two feet.

‘Because she was such a young bird, she was still growing at the time when this happened,” Wright said. “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.”

Flop is slowly being introduced to the main penguin 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,” the Dudley Zoo said in a statement. “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.”

That determination, Wright said, is what made the biggest difference. “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,” she said. “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.”

Sources: The Guardian  | Daily Mail