New Zealand's Emperor Penguin Happy Feet Cast Leaves Its Mark Around the World

Barbara Tucker, a passenger aboard the trapped ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy looks at an Adelie penguin walking by on the ice off East Antarctica December 29, 2013, some 100 nautical miles (185 km) east of French Antarctic station Dumont D'Urville and about 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km) south of Hobart, Tasmania. REUTERS/Andrew Peacock REUTERS/Andrew Peacock

New Zealand's emperor penguin called Happy Feet may have been already let go years ago, but its foot cast has been making a mark around the world, brought around by members of a passionate group.

New Zealand Herald recalls how the famed emperor penguin was seen at the Peka Peka Beach in June 2011 right at the Kapiti Coast. It was then dubbed a name that was after the penguin character in the animated movie, Happy Feet. Happy Feet then was taken for care at the Wellington Zoo and eventually released after about a month.

By then, a group was formed made up of members who gathered online to talk about the captured emperor penguin at the zoo, according to Lin Wenn. They all turned out to become good friends because of Happy Feet.

The cast that was placed on one of the penguin's feet was offered for auction, they all saved up and paid $700 just to have the precious item. Since then, Happy Feet's cast has travelled to different parts of the world. It has been all around New Zealand and even to other countries like Germany, Hong Kong, U.S. and, of course, Australia.

The group referred to the cast as "The Foot." They take pictures of it in special and famed landmarks of a certain city or a place that is highly valued by one of its members. Mrs Wenn added that The Foot has gone to several bars, in Texas, and even in Hobbiton in New Zealand. "It's been a hoot," she stated.

The group follows a certain set of rules when sent to a particular member in a different place. Somewhere along the way, it has faced the risk of being lost and was even once stuck in Germany's customs department. The next anticipated destination of Happy Feet's The Foot is in Chicago where a wife of one of the members is all set to give birth.

The One Green Planet Web site wrote that it was on Jan 20 when the Penguin Awareness Day was recently celebrated. It was a time to celebrate the existence of the amazing creatures and learn more about them. To know more fast facts about the emperor penguin like how they once knew how to fly, check out this link.