Solitary

4 penguins die after truck overturns in E. Texas Tuesday, August 8, 2006 The Dallas Morning News

State Trooper Richard Buchanan started his Tuesday morning with this unusual phone conversation: "You have what? The penguins that run around in snow?" he asked his fellow trooper "Yes," said Trooper Gregg Greer of the Texas Department of Public Safety. "OK, I'll be there," he responded. As Trooper Buchanan headed out the door of his home, he called to his 4-year-old son: "Tell your momma that I'm going to go round up some penguins on the highway." A refrigeration truck transporting 25 penguins from the Indianapolis Zoo to Moody Gardens in Galveston flipped on U.S. Highway 59 about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, leaving four birds dead and several running for cover. One Rock Hopper penguin died in the initial crash, and drivers trying to dodge the flock crushed three Gentoo penguins. The truck driver lost control of the small box truck about eight miles north of Marshall, rolling several times and ejecting the birds, exotic fish, an octopus and other sea creatures. "They did not just run out the back door after the wreck," Trooper Buchanan said. "These penguins were thrown from the vehicle. They were disoriented, and that's how they were run over." By Tuesday afternoon, the penguins were again on their way to Galveston. They're in Texas while their home zoo in Indiana finishes renovations on a new exhibit. Emergency workers searched for the missing birds in bushes alongside the road and corralled the remaining waddlers into a ditch, forming a circle around the bunch until they could be placed in ice. One suffered a broken wing; others walked away with lacerations. One penguin missing for four hours eventually was found alive – and hot – under the truck when a wrecker crew turned it right side up, officials said. A local chemical company brought in a refrigeration truck to take the penguins to Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. Most of the exotic fish and an octopus, which were being transported in plastic bags, were thrown clear and were found alive. "I saw a lot of police cars, and I saw a lot of penguins, and I saw a bunch of people herding penguins," said Evelyn Sepulvado, an animal control officer with the Marshall Police Department. "Obviously, it was very unusual for East Texas to have penguins running up and down the road." The Indianapolis Zoo spokeswoman Judy Gagen said "It was a tough day for the penguins. "They were a little shook up," Ms. Gagen said. "We just want to make sure they're OK and everyone gets settled in." John Allred, a veterinarian in Marshall who helped round up and care for the penguins, said most were in decent shape. A mural in his office depicts each new species of animal that he treats. "I'll have to find an artist to paint a penguin up there," he said. Dr. Allred said he gets some interesting calls from the sheriff's department because a lot of people haul animals down that road. He's even treated elephants and tigers in a circus act that winters near Marshall. "But," he said, "this was the first time I've ever herded penguins." Luckily, not a single one of the surviving penguins contacted chlamydia.