6 Jun 2023
The Somerset veterinary hospital perform the scan on Chaka to investigate a balance issue.
Vet Times
Job Title
A veterinary team claims to have performed the world’s first reported MRI scan of a fairy penguin (also known as the little blue penguin) to investigate a balance issue.
Cave Veterinary Specialists, Somerset, carried out the procedure on Chaka, a resident at Sea Life Weymouth.
Chaka presented with a history of ataxia, particularly when coming out of the water, and a central cause of this was feared, as other investigations, treatment trials and environmental optimisation had not resolved the issue. MRI was the imaging modality of choice for this.
The MRI scan showed no evidence of structural disease in Chaka, who is otherwise healthy apart from the occasional wobble.
Speaking about the procedure, Cave’s clinical anaesthetist Pippa Tucker said: “We perform MRI scans of dogs and cats on a daily basis, but this is the first one we are aware of on this type of penguin.”
She and fellow anaesthesia team members Will McFadzean and Erica Daly gathered as much information from the available literature on anaesthesia in other species of penguins, combined it with their own knowledge, and understanding of anaesthesia and physiology, and developed a plan effective and safe for Chaka.
Penguins have a number of anatomical and physiological features, which were considered in advance of the procedure.
These include a septum in their trachea, which has the potential to be injured during intubation. They also have a unique counter-current mechanism in their feet, neck and wings designed to allow for the maintenance and dissipation of heat, depending on what is required.
Kico Iraola, curator at Sea Life Weymouth, said: “This MRI scan is significant in enabling us to start to gather data about the skull and bone structure for this species, as after comprehensive research, we could not find any historical MRI images for a little blue penguin elsewhere.”
