Edinburgh Zoo’s one-eyed penguin bounces back after second surgery

A one-eyed Northern rockhopper penguin at the Edinburgh Zoo has made a full recovery after a second operation on her eye socket.

Poly has recovered and moved back in with the colony at Penguins Rock, just in time to celebrate Penguin Awareness Day on January 20.

The little penguin hatched in April 2025, and zookeepers at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo later discovered she had a life-threatening infection.

She underwent surgery to remove the affected eye over the summer. Poly was very sick, and for a while, the zoo feared she wouldn’t make it.

After an initial “remarkable recovery”, Poly had to undergo a second surgery to treat a serious infection in her eye socket.

Vets from the RZSS worked with ophthalmology specialists from the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies to save Poly.

After the second surgery, Edinburgh’s one-eyed penguin was fitted with a modified recovery suit, which is normally used for cats, to allow fluid to drain while she healed.

Now that the drain has been removed, Poly has moved back in with the colony of penguins at Edinburgh Zoo.

RZSS vets will continue to monitor her while gradually reducing her medication.

Rockhoppers like Poly are endangered, and a veterinary surgeon at RZSS previously said that every addition to the colony is a “meaningful step toward securing the future of the species”.

Visitors can spot Poly, along with the other rockhopper penguins, at Edinburgh Zoo’s Penguins Rock.