Creative vets managed to keep their elderly penguin patients still for x-ray check-ups by plonking a TRAFFIC CONE over them.
Staff at Curraghs Wildlife Park in The Curraghs, Isle of Man, wanted to make the straightforward procedure stress-free for two 23-year-old Humboldt penguins on Thursday [February 2nd].
Vets decided to use the everyday plastic item to keep the wriggling pair still, crucially without needing to use anaesthetic.
The male and female birds took turns to happily snuggle inside the orange plastic cone while getting their x-rays taken to assess their joints for arthritis and were given a clean bill of health.
Kathleen Graham, park manager of Curraghs Wildlife Park, said: "As the penguins get a bit older you can see they're a little bit stiffer, so it's a good idea just to see what's going on in the joints.
"Sometimes animals can be very good at coping with quite severe arthritis but thankfully they're not at that stage yet so it's good to have check-ups.
"The vets saw another zoo had used traffic cones [so decided to try it]. If you can avoid putting an animal under an anaesthetic it's a lot more stress-free for the animal.
"Without the cone they would be moving about and looking around, they need to stand very still.
"Humboldt penguins like to nest in a dark little den so when the cone goes over their head they're confined but they're not stressed. Because it's nice and dark they can feel quite secure.
"It doesn't take too long to x-ray a penguin. You simply set up the x-ray machine, pop the cone over their head, pop out the room, click the button and then the picture's taken."
