Rare Antarctic penguin accidentally travels 3,000km to New Zealand
A penguin has found itself on the shores of New Zealand, at least 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) away from its natural habitat of Antarctica.
The Adélie penguin, who has now been affectionately named Pingu by locals, was found looking lost on the coast.
Harry Singh, the local resident who found him, said he thought he was a “soft toy” at first.
It is only the third recorded incident of an Adélie penguin being found on New Zealand’s coast.
Mr Singh and his wife first came across the penguin when they were out walking after a long day of work on the beach at Birdlings Flat, a settlement south of the city of Christchurch.
“First I thought it (was) a soft toy, suddenly the penguin moved his head, so I realized it was real,” Mr Singh told a news agency.
Footage of the penguin posted on Mr Singh’s Facebook page showed the penguin appearing lost and alone.
“It did not move for one hour… and [looked] exhausted,” Mr Singh said.
Mr Singh proceeded to call penguin rescuers as he was concerned that the penguin was not getting into the water, thereby making it a potential target for other predatory animals roaming the beach.
“We did not want it to end up in a dog’s or cat’s stomach,” he said.
He eventually got through to Thomas Stracke, who has been rehabilitating penguins on New Zealand’s South Island for about 10 years.
Mr Stracke was shocked to find that the penguin was an Adélie penguin – a species that lives exclusively on the Antarctic peninsula. Mr Stracke, along with a veterinarian, rescued the penguin that same evening.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES