World | New Zealand Wayward Penguin Better After Surgery 'Happy Feet' had been eating sand and wood By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Jun 27, 2011 1:05 PM CDT Copied A veterinary nurse holds debris removed from the stomach of an Antarctic penguin that wound up stranded on a New Zealand beach. (Mark Mitchell) See 4 more photos New Zealand's favorite penguin visitor is more lively and eating fish after undergoing endoscopic surgery today to remove some of the beach sand and twigs it swallowed, apparently mistaking it for snow. Full recovery for the young emperor penguin—nicknamed Happy Feet—may take months, and officials are still uncertain about how it might return home to the Antarctic, about 2,000 miles away. Happy Feet is being housed in a room at the Wellington Zoo chilled to about 46 degrees Fahrenheit, and has a bed of ice on which it can sleep. The penguin may be older than experts first thought—perhaps up to 2 1/2 years old rather than the initial estimate of 10 months. Experts still don't know whether it's male or female, although DNA samples should soon provide an answer. Read These Next RFK Jr. suggests antidepressants to blame after shooting. Details trickle out on 2 more victims of the Minneapolis shooting. Trump just used a spending maneuver last seen nearly 50 years ago. The Air Force has changed its tune on Ashli Babbitt. See 4 more photos Report an error