Nothing has been heard for several days from a young Emperor penguin released last week after capturing global attention when it washed up on a New Zealand beach thousands of kilometers from home. The bird, nicknamed “Happy Feet” by locals, was released into the southern ocean on Sept 4 from a New Zealand research ship and had been tracked since then by means of a GPS transmitter that showed it heading southeast. But no transmissions have been received since September 9, said Sirtrack, a wildlife tracking firm that had been following Happy Feet. “This indicates that the satellite transmitter has not broken the surface of the water, required to transmit, since that time,” the company said on its website, noting that the transmitter had been working correctly when last heard from. “This leads to the conclusion that either the satellite transmitter has detached or an unknown event has prevented Happy Feet from surfacing.”

Excerpt from:
Contact lost with wayward penguin "Happy Feet"

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