Born Blind, Surgery Gives a Penguin Sight

A 14-week-old penguin named Ajani can see after surgery to remove his cataracts was successful. Ajani, who lives at the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls, Idaho, is an African black-footed penguin who was born with cataracts that left him blind. Dr. Nicole MacLaren, a veterinary ophthalmologist in Salt Lake City, performed the surgery, which took only 10 to 15 minutes per eye. As the still-woozy penguin recovered from surgery, Dr. MacLaren silently dangled a bit of string in front of him. When the penguin bit at the string, Dr. MacLaren knew the surgery was a success. Just another reason why we love our veterinarians!