Staff pull coin out of Calgary zoo penguin

Staff at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo are reminding the public to help keep animals safe after one of the facility's penguins swallowed a coin. (Supplied)

Keepers at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo are reminding guests to be careful around exhibits after an incident inside the facility’s Penguin Plunge, which “could have turned out very differently.”

In a Facebook post on Monday, officials said keepers at the exhibit observed one of the Humboldt penguins, 13-year-old Juanita, was walking with “a slight abnormal gait.”

Following an X-ray, staff found “a metal foreign body.”

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“Because penguin stomachs are highly acidic to help them digest whole fish, ingesting anything metallic poses serious risk of leaching, leading to heavy metal toxicity and even death,” the Wilder Institute said in the post.

“Our animal health team moved swiftly performing an endoscopy while Juanita was under anesthesia at our animal health centre.”

Guided with a small camera, staff inserted retrieval forceps into Juanita’s stomach to remove the item, revealing that it was a coin.

Officials said thankfully it was a newer 10-cent piece that did not contain any zinc or lead.

Juanita recovered well from the intervention and is already back in the Penguin Plunge.

At the same time, staff were also able to diagnose that she has degenerative joint disease in her right knee, which was confirmed by the X-ray.

“She is receiving some extra TLC from her dedicated caregivers,” staff said.

“This incident could have turned out very differently, and we’re grateful for the quick response from our team in caring for this beloved bird.”

The zoo is reminding the public about the following guidelines to keep animals safe inside exhibits:

• keep small items like coins, hair ties, tickets and wrappers out of enclosures;
• never place items on habitat ledges or railings; and
• if you see something fall into a habitat, notify a staff member or volunteer immediately.