Q: What has happened to Happy Feet, the emperor penguin?
—Tanya Kent, Suwanee
A: As of Sept. 15, scientists had not regained contact with Happy Feet, the emperor penguin that had been found starving on a New Zealand beach in June. Veterinarians nursed Happy Feet – named for the 2006 movie about penguins – back to health and returned him into the ocean on Sept. 4. Before his release, a satellite transmitter was attached to Happy Feet, and it was functioning until researchers lost track of him about five days after his release, according to The Associated Press. He had gone about 75 miles from his release point from the research ship Tangaroa in the Southern Ocean. Happy Feet also has a transponder chip implanted under his skin, but he will need to get close enough to an Antarctic monitoring site for a signal from that device to be detected. Scientists believe that it could take up to two years for Happy Feet to arrive in an Antarctic penguin colony to breed, if he is still alive. Happy Feet was released after four days aboard the ship, at a point just east of Campbell Island, which is within the range of young emperor penguins, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Q: What ever happened to Forrest Sawyer, a former Atlanta broadcaster, who left for either ABC or CBS in New York?
—Shirley Sanders, Bogart
A: Forrest Sawyer, who worked at Atlanta's WAGA from 1980-85, left NBC News in 2005 to start FreeFall Productions, which has produced documentaries for ABC News, MSNBC, PBS' "Frontline" and the Discovery Networks.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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