penGUANO !!
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Tavishi
Hello! So remember how I was interning at the Aquarium of Niagara?
This summer, when looking for something to do, I prioritized pinnipeds- as in I only applied to pinniped internships. And, I did end up at one- but I also ended up at a penguin internship!
I'm part of the Aquarium of Niagara's marine mammals and birds internship. I came here for the marine mammal part, but I've learned a shocking amount in the bird part, which consists exclusively of Humboldt penguins!
I've only been here for seven days so far, but I feel like a little penguin knowledge sponge. This internship is focused less on veterinary stuff, and more on husbandry, with a special emphasis on animal training. It's so, so, so cool!!!
PHYSIOLOGY
Penguins are pretty unique physiologically.
First, as I've learned from their poop, their internal body temperature is 102° F. Penguins have magnificient body temperature regulation to manage Being Birds in Water. Part of that is their incredible coat of waterproof feathers, which allow for them to not get hypothermia from being Permanently Wet. This is part of the reason why penguins don't go in the water when they are babies- because they are born with a feathery down that gets wet and causes hypothermia.
FUN FACT: Humboldt penguins poop 30-40 times a day. I have learned this firsthand.
Also, penguins have a super cool feature called a salt gland, which allows them to drink saltwater. Salt glands act just like kidneys, and are located right above the eye of the penguin. Now, most animals can't drink saltwater, because it would overload their kidneys- they wouldn't be able to filter out all that water. Penguins, however, have that little extra safety net built in by the salt glands, which means they can be pickle fiends (I wish I had a salt gland.
FUN FACT: Penguins eat fish, not pickles.
Another cool thing about penguins is that unlike most birds, they lack a crop, which is a little storage pouch for food found in many bird species.
For the most part, penguins are birds though.
Sometimes, they remind me of pinnipeds, especially because they moult! Just like seals, they have annual catastrophic moults. Prior to a moult, penguins get ravenously hungry and gain about a third of their body weight in a short period of time.
TLDR; they get fat and then explode ALL their feathers. Then they grow them back. NEW penguin! yipppeeeee canoooooeeeeedle....
PATHOLOGY IN CAPTIVITY
Now that you know how an ideal penguin works (fish goes in, poop comes out, silly juice stays in), it's time to learn what can go wrong with a penguin.
Some of the things that can go wrong are very specific to being in captivity. Penguins in captivity are significantly less likely to starve, but can get nutritional deficiencies, infectious diseases, and more.
At the Aquarium of Niagara, and at most responsible penguin facilities, penguins are allowed to take care of their own young. Of course, not every parent is perfect, and so it's the facility's job to check in on parents. This especially entails making sure parents are getting the right amount of food- neither too much or too little. Penguins feed their young by regurgitating fish, and if overfed, they will make their babies fat. This can cause more complications than just silly fat baby syndrome (real disorder, by the way).
One such complication is bone deformities- in babies, bones are all cartilaginous, and they grow and form in response to the pressure put on them (I always thought this was a really beautiful thing to think about.) If penguin is too fat, the growing bones deform and become bowed. One of our Humboldt penguins, named Desi, has visibly bowed legs, likely due to something like this. In humans, legs bow in response to undernutrition, rather than overnutrition; this is part of a disease called Rickett's, which is a nutritional deficiency of vitamin D.
Another common penguin disease in the wild is aspergillosis, which is a fungal infection. The disease is caused by Aspergillus spp., most prominently including A. fumigatus. Aspergillosis is often found in populations housed in poor, unventilated conditions. This is a disease heavily linked to environmental conditions, and is exacerbated by stress, overcrowding, and changes to the enclosure. Aspergillosis presents with the typical symptoms of any upper respiratory infection, including impaired vocalizations, mouth breathing, coughing, anorexia, and other similar symptoms of illness.
Disease can be treated with itraconazole.
Penguins are also quite susceptible to bumblefoot, the worst enemy of any bird-keeper. Bumblefoot, otherwise known as pododermatitis, is the formation of sores on the foot of a bird. This is often caused by regular perches, and is why birds need access to variable surfaces- if pressure is placed especially on certain areas of the foot, ulcers form easily. Thus, it's essential to provide birds a variety of different texture perches and ground.
For penguins, this looks like the presence of rocky, flat, pebbley (this isn't a word), and rubber mats throughout an enclosure to make sure no one area of the foot is receiving disproportionate pressure.
The issue with bumblefoot isn't just the sores themselves- it's the complications associated. Bumblefoot sores allows a point of entry for bacterial infection, resulting in osteomyelitis and septic infection ultimately resulting in death.
During a lecture by Dr. Simon Spiro, the wildlife pathologist at the London Zoo, he discussed a case of bumblefoot in a scarlet ibis. The infection was, unfortunately, not detected until after death, during which he discovered endocarditis, or the inflammation of the inner lining of the heart. The formation of endocarditis was a result of bacteria introduced through pododermatitis.
Bumblefoot is essential to manage because it allows an entry point for vulnerable species with minimal exposure to external bacteria. Especially when in confined spaces, this can prove quite dangerous.
Bumblefoot is quite easy to develop in captive penguin species, and can be prevented easily through effective management and husbandry care.
Penguins in captivity are easily affected by avian malaria. Avian malaria is caused primarily by Plasmodium relictum, which is a type of protozoan.
Malaria in people is generally caused by other Plasmodium species, including P. falciparum and P. vivax.
Avian malaria works just like regular malaria, and is carried by a vector insect to the birds. Usually, this vector is a mosquito.
Again, prevention of avian malaria in captivity breaks down to ensuring proper husbandry care. In this case, preventing mosquito entry into enclosure spaces, which is best done by preventing standing pools of water, within which mosquito populations breed.
Ultimately, this disease produces very high mortality rates in sensitive penguin populations. Disease is most frequently recognized in post-mortem examinations, with the presence of enlarged liver and spleens (caused by damage to red blood cells [most important way malaria affects an organism]), and discoloration of the Kuppfer cells in the liver (caused by presence of hemozoin pigment!).
Fun fact: malaria is a parasitic infection! And speaking of parasitic infections....
PARASITES !!!!
Penguins get parasites, too! Parasitic infections are significantly more common in free-ranging populations rather than in captivity- in captivity, parasites would be more common in outdoor enclosures or under negligent care. In the wild, having parasites is just a part of being a penguin.
BABESIA
Babesia spp. are protozoan parasites carried by ticks. Babesia is especially known for infecting red blood cells.
Babesia is of histological significance- it can be noticed by forming a tetrad shaped like a Maltese cross (insane comparison btw) or little rings on erythrocyte surfaces.
Babesia is carried by Ixodes ticks...
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IXODES URIAE
Ixodes uriae is a species of tick found on seabirds. I. uriae is not of clinical significance just for its own pathology.
Rather, I. uriae is well known for itsndirect impact by acting as a vector of other parasites, like Babesia, Rickettsia, and more.
This species is also known to carry the disease-causing agent of Lyme disease, but is not implicated in the spread of the disease. To anyone reading this from East Lyme, Connecticut, hi!
Of course, there are tonnes more penguin parasites, but y'all don't have the attention span for me to be able to put everything I want to write about in one post... get better. Uncook yourself, kindly.
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