BBC Scotland-produced series Inside The Zoo started on BBC Two last night and had viewers weeping for a poorly penguin.
The documentary series, set across Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park, featured Fingal the penguin.
What happened with Fingal in BBC Scotland series Inside The Zoo?
Fingal had an infection caused by mould in the environment.
A vet on the programme, which first aired last year, explained: “Aspergillosis is an infection caused by aspergillus, which are a family of moulds found in the environment.
Read more: Inside The Zoo: Is Gail Porter the narrator and when’s the new series?
“Penguins, particularly, and other birds as well, can be very susceptible to infections by those moulds and that’s what was happening in Fingal’s case.”
Final wouldn’t eat and lost a lot of weight.
Sadly, one of the zoo employees said: “Fingal deteriorated quite rapidly overnight and it was a very difficult decision, but with him going downhill, it wasn’t fair to continue.”
They made the decision to to put Fingal to sleep.
Anyone who’s ever had a pet will know how agonising that decision is to have them put to sleep.
Heartbreakingly, Inside The Zoo showed another penguin coming up to Fingal in their enclosure, seemingly to say a last goodbye
One of the zoo workers said: “For a lot of us, we’ve all looked after him for five years plus. To see that animal then become ill, it’s really difficult.”
The vet told viewers: “Anyone who’s ever had a pet will know how agonising that decision is to have them put to sleep. It’s a horrible, heartbreaking decision to make… for Fingal, we just thought it was too much for him to continue.”
What did Inside The Zoo viewers say?
On Twitter, Fingal’s death had Beeb viewers bawling their eyes out.
One said: “Not me crying about a penguin I’ve known about for five minutes being put to sleep.”
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Another tweeted: “#InsideTheZoo has broken me. Poor Fingal.”
A third said they were “proper ugly crying” watching Inside The Zoo.
A fourth wrote, using all capitals and a crying emoji: “FINGAL!”
https://twitter.com/lucytweetsmeow/status/1361764662648446982
https://twitter.com/LaurenRettie/status/1361764675038236673
Proper ugly crying, Fingal #InsideTheZoo
— Julie (@JulieJLW) February 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/PeteGJ90/status/1361764447694503936
Inside The Zoo, airing on BBC Two at 7pm on Tuesdays, has Gail Porter as its narrator.
Harry Bell, a producer on the series, said: “What the army of keepers, vets and experts do behind the scenes at Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park is just as fascinating, funny and exotic as the animals in their charge.”
– Episodes of Inside The Zoo are available to stream on iPlayer
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