Antarctic penguin found on beach in New Zealand, 3,000km from home

Pingu was given a fish smoothie to get his strength back up

An exhausted Antarctic penguin has been found 3,000km from home on a beach in New Zealand.

The young Adélie penguin, named Pingu by rescuers, was found “severely dehydrated and starving” by Harry Singh on Birdlings Flat, a small settlement in Canterbury on New Zealand’s South Island.

“First I thought it (was) a soft toy, suddenly the penguin moved his head, so I realised it was real,” Mr Singh told the BBC.

Footage of the penguin, posted on Mr Singh’s Facebook page, showed the penguin appearing lost and alone.

Pingu looks out at how far he has travelled
Harry Singh

“It did not move for one hour... and [looked] exhausted,” Mr Singh said.

Mr Singh stayed with Pingu to protect him from predators after he saw the bird wasn’t returning to sea.

He called Thomas Stracke of Christchurch Penguin Rehabilitation who was shocked to find it was an Adélie penguin.

“Apart from being a bit starving and severely dehydrated, he was actually not too bad, so we gave him some fluids and some fish smoothie,” Stracke said.

Harry Singh said he hopes he can see Pingu home safe in Antarctica
Harry Singh

It is believed to be only the third time in recorded history that an Adélie penguin has found its way to New Zealand, according to an online encyclopaedia of New Zealand birds. A corpse was found in Marlborough in 1962 and a live adélie penguin was reportedly found in Kaikōura in 1993.

Otago University zoology professor Philip Seddon said Pingu’s sighting was “super rare,” and that it could have been a younger bird that strayed too far and got caught in a current that carried him into New Zealand waters.

He told the Guardian it could be an early warning sign of climate change.

“I think if we started getting annual arrivals of Adélie penguins, we’d go actually, something’s changed in the ocean that we need to understand,” he said.

“All species of penguin are like marine sentinels … when they’re doing badly, they’re giving us an early signal – canaries in coalmines – an early signal that things are not good.”

The penguin was released into a dog-free bay on Banks Peninsula, where it is hoped he will make his long way back home.

Harry Singh told The Standard: “I just wish he can get back to his family and be safe. I wish I could see him again but this time in Antarctica.

“I think he has the strength, he was underweight and dehydrated when I found him.

“But he was so energetic after relaxing for 3 hours on the beach and was running away from waves.”

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