Blue Suede Shoes

Posted by liaso (Bay Area, United States) on 14 May 2008 in Animal & Insect.

Okay, so this penguin isn't Elvis and I doubt the little blue booties are suede. But I couldn't resist.

I'm not sure what the name of this penguin is. The man feeding the penguins told us, but I assumed I'd be able to tell from the sign I photographed. However, the red/white combo band is not listed on it. I think this was a girl, but I've even forgotten which flipper the girls had their bands on. My memory is useless.

What I do know is that her beak is damaged and she has to be hand-fed, pretty much forever. When she was first taken in, they couldn't even feed her the fish, so she was fed by tube. Now she can eat the fish as long as it's put in her mouth for her. If she doesn't like the fish or is full, she swings her head and basically "throws" the fish away.

She wears the booties because she has some problems with her feet and the booties protect her from the hardness of the rocks and from infection.

She truly is a fortunate one.