After developing a weight issue due to her love for sausages, a kookaburra is set to receive personal training.
The kookaburra began gaining weight when locals in a Sydney park started feeding her sausages during barbecues.
Weighing in at 565 grams (1.2 pounds), the plump bird is nearly 40 percent heavier than an average adult kookaburra, rendering her too unfit to fly.
‘In the wild, she’d typically consume a whole small animal like a mouse or skink, but butcher’s sausages are simply too indulgent,’ explained Gemma Watkinson, a wildlife hospital nurse at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.
After witnessing dogs chasing the bird along the ground, a Sydney resident brought her to the zoo.
‘For the past couple of weeks, the kookaburra has been in the rehabilitation aviary, following a special “lite n’easy” diet created by our bird keeper,’ stated Watkinson. The bird will also engage in a demanding exercise routine with a personal trainer, up to three times daily.
‘We’ve tailored her temporary home to function as a “bird gym”,’ Watkinson continued.
Presently, the bird is demonstrating progress in her fight against obesity; however, she still has further weight to lose before she is ready for release back into the wild.
