Endangered African Penguin Chick Recovers After Surgery at Cal Academy

A baby African penguin at the California Academy of Sciences, named Iggie, developed a slipped Achilles tendon at just 2 months old, a common and potentially fatal injury for penguin chicks. Veterinarians at the Academy and other institutions successfully performed a first-of-its-kind tendon surgery, which could become a solution for this injury with other penguins. They hope it could change the future of these endangered species.

Initially, veterinarians fitted Iggie with a tiny Teva-like, neoprene boot to support the tendon, but this was just a temporary fix. Iggie couldn’t walk once the boot was removed. Freeland Dunker, senior veterinarian at the Academy, sought a more permanent solution by surgically screwing the tendons in place.

“Basically, what we did is we placed a screw with a washer into the bone close to the ankle joint and went right through the tendon itself,” Dunker explained.

This type of surgery had been unsuccessful for two other penguins with similar injuries at the Academy, but Dunker was optimistic. “With consultation and some modifications, we felt that it would be worth a try for our little guy,” he added.

Iggie’s surgery was completed in June 2023, and rehabilitation began immediately. By August, Iggie was able to walk again without relying on the boot. With the help of Dunker, Iggie started using the Academy’s “penguin pool” for therapy.

By September, Iggie was undergoing regular exercises with ramps and stairs. “In October, we worked with him to jump up and down the stairs multiple times a day and encouraged him to come in and out of the pool multiple times to strengthen that leg,” Dunker said.

These exercises were crucial to get Iggie ready for the exhibit at the Academy.

By January of 2024, six months post-surgery, Iggie was able to move in and out of the water without any problems and has been fine ever since.

Penguins, like humans, rely on their Achilles tendons for movement, and when this tendon slips, they cannot bear weight on the leg. A slip is common in penguin chicks, but previous treatment efforts had limited success. Dunker noted that Iggie’s rehabilitation went smoothly, with only minimal setbacks.

“Maybe a little too much exercise would cause the joint to swell a bit, but with some penguin aspirin, he’d get back on track,” Dunker said.

The successful surgery and rehabilitation demonstrates that this procedure could offer hope for future cases of penguins with slipped Achilles tendons. “After consulting experts and performing surgery, we were able to rehabilitate the chick successfully,” Dunker said. “He’s now thriving.”

The steep decline of African penguins

These adorable but imperiled birds are the only penguin species that live in Africa and nest in South Africa and Namibia. Populations in both of those countries have dropped dramatically over the years. In 1993, there were about 44,000 pairs of African penguins. But by 2023, that number dropped to just 9,000 pairs.

“That is critically low,” said Brenda Melton, director of animal care and welfare at the Academy’s Steinhart Aquarium. Melton said that prediction models show this species could be extinct in the wild in the next ten years.

The sharp decline in African penguins is due to several factors. People harvesting guano, which penguins use for nesting, forced them into less protected environments, making it harder to protect their chicks. Climate change and overfishing have reduced their food supply, while a massive oil spill in 2000 on the coast of South Africa further threatened populations.

Despite these harsh realities, conservation efforts are ongoing both in Africa and globally, and the Academy plays a role in those efforts.

You can see Iggie and other African penguins at the Steinhart Aquarium at Cal Academy in person. Or watch them live here.