Penguin a living 'piggy bank'

A Humboldt penguin at the Denver Zoo was getting ready to be shipped to another zoo, but the transfer was held up when veterinarians found coins in the bird's stomach.

Zoo officials said well-wishers toss coins into the penguin pond for good luck, but it's bad luck for the birds that can't differentiate a shiny coin from a shiny scaled fish and ingest them, causing stomach problems.

The adult female Humboldt, who was undergoing a wellness exam, had a blood test that indicated she had a dangerously high level of zinc in her system. Veterinarians had to remove the coins using an endoscope with a small net attached to ''scoop'' the coins from the bird's stomach.

Veterinarians successfully recovered 71 cents and pieces of a partially digested penny from the penguin's stomach. They said despite the inherent risks of any procedure involving anesthesia, the bird recovered fully and the levels of zinc in her blood have dropped back to normal.