Obese Sydney bird sent to birdy bootcamp
An Australian kookaburra bird is undergoing personal training after growing too fat to fly because she ate too many sausages.
The kookaburra got into trouble with her weight when residents at a Sydney park began feeding her sausages at barbecues.
The porky kookaburra weighed in at 565 grams (1.2 pounds), nearly 40 percent heavier than a normal adult bird, rendering her so unfit she couldn't fly.
"Out in the wild she'd eat a whole small animal such as a mouse or skink, but butcher's sausages are just too much of a good thing," said Gemma Watkinson, Sydney's Taronga Zoo wildlife hospital nurse.
A Sydney resident brought the bird to the zoo after spotting dogs chasing her along the ground.
"The kookaburra's been down at the rehabilitation aviary for a couple of weeks on a special 'lite n'easy' diet designed by our bird keeper," said Watkinson.
Following a rigorous exercise regime up to three times a day with a personal trainer, the kookaburra is winning her battle of the bulge, but still a little more weight to shed before being ready to be returned to her native habitat.
"We've fitted the temporary home out like a 'bird gym'," said Watkinson
Town council seizes fat dog
Don't overfeed your pets, lest your municipal authorities come take them away.
That's a lesson learned by dog owners in the Wyre region of Lancashire, England.
The Wyre Borough Council seized Gucci, the obese bull terrier, from her home this week and sent her to fat camp, reports the U.K. Daily Mail.
The council got a court order to take the 56-pound dog after a local vet expressed fear for her wellbeing, and multiple notices were to her owners warning them to take better care of Gucci.
The dog was reportedly so big that she waddled and had sores from supporting her own weight.
The ideal weight for the breed is between 44 and 85 pounds, depending on the breeding and parentage of the animal
An Australian kookaburra bird is undergoing personal training after growing too fat to fly because she ate too many sausages.
The kookaburra got into trouble with her weight when residents at a Sydney park began feeding her sausages at barbecues.
The porky kookaburra weighed in at 565 grams (1.2 pounds), nearly 40 percent heavier than a normal adult bird, rendering her so unfit she couldn't fly.
"Out in the wild she'd eat a whole small animal such as a mouse or skink, but butcher's sausages are just too much of a good thing," said Gemma Watkinson, Sydney's Taronga Zoo wildlife hospital nurse.
A Sydney resident brought the bird to the zoo after spotting dogs chasing her along the ground.
"The kookaburra's been down at the rehabilitation aviary for a couple of weeks on a special 'lite n'easy' diet designed by our bird keeper," said Watkinson.
Following a rigorous exercise regime up to three times a day with a personal trainer, the kookaburra is winning her battle of the bulge, but still a little more weight to shed before being ready to be returned to her native habitat.
"We've fitted the temporary home out like a 'bird gym'," said Watkinson
Town council seizes fat dog
Don't overfeed your pets, lest your municipal authorities come take them away.
That's a lesson learned by dog owners in the Wyre region of Lancashire, England.
The Wyre Borough Council seized Gucci, the obese bull terrier, from her home this week and sent her to fat camp, reports the U.K. Daily Mail.
The council got a court order to take the 56-pound dog after a local vet expressed fear for her wellbeing, and multiple notices were to her owners warning them to take better care of Gucci.
The dog was reportedly so big that she waddled and had sores from supporting her own weight.
The ideal weight for the breed is between 44 and 85 pounds, depending on the breeding and parentage of the animal
