'Penguin pioneer': Wobbly penguin becomes first in world to undergo MRI scan in UK

A fairy penguin named ‘Chaka’ became the world’s first penguin to get an MRI scan. The penguin lives at Sea Life, Weymouth in the UK underwent the scan as it was observed to have a bit of ‘wobbling’ while waddling. The MRI scan was done at the Cave Veterinary Specialists in Somerset.

This is considered a milestone in the field of veterinary. The scan was able to show that the penguin has some balance issues but nothing was critical.

"Chaka's results have come back to show no detrimental issue to his health, and his scan now brings a range of new knowledge,” says Pipa Tucker, from Cave Veterinary Specialists.

According to the Weymouth Sea Life Adventure Park, Chaka leads a healthy, social life interactingwith other fellow penguins. The team also shared details about the extra efforts taken to ensure the procedure was as comfortable as possible for Chaka.

‘Penguin pioneer’

In a Facebook post shared by the park, Kico Iraola, a curator at SEA LIFE Weymouth said: “Chaka has become a penguin pioneer. Although his own waddle may still be a little wobbly, he has made great strides for the world of veterinary science and the penguin world.”

Tucker also said that unlike cats and dogs, which are regularly treated by veterinary specialists, penguins hold their breath for comparatively lesser time. This made the team closely monitor Chaka during the scan.

Why this MRI scan is a milestone

Fairy Penguins are the smallest of the 17 penguin species. The information that is gathered during the scan could go on to support the conservation of the world’s wild population of this species. The images from Chaka’s MRI scan will also help improve the knowledge of the fairy penguin species at the aquarium and around the world.

"This MRI scan is significant in enabling us to start to gather data about the skull and the bone structure for this species, as after comprehensive research, we could not find any historical MRI images for a Little Blue Penguin elsewhere," said Kico Iraola, Curator at Sea Life Weymouth.

So, Chaka may still have a wobbly walk but he has helped improve the scientific knowledge of the species.

Fairy penguins

The fairy penguin is a species of penguin from New Zealand and is commonly known as the little blue penguin or blue penguin. They have a slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Maori name, korora.

(With inputs from agencies)

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