Skinny Antarctic penguin appears on Australia beach. 'Never in my wildest thoughts'

Aspen Pflughoeft, The Charlotte Observer on Nov 8, 2024

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A malnourished emperor penguin appeared on a beach in Australia, thousands of miles from its home in Antarctica. Wildlife experts rescued the bird and took it to a rehabilitation center.

A beachgoer at “a popular tourist beach in Denmark, Western Australia,” noticed the out-of-place emperor penguin on Friday, Nov. 1 and alerted wildlife experts, the region’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions said in a news release shared with McClatchy News on Nov. 8.

Carol Biddulph, an “experienced local seabird rehabilitator,” arrived to check on the lost penguin. Photos show the 3-foot-tall black and white bird standing on the sandy beach.

“The bird sort of turned at an angle and I could see its backbone protruding and I thought this bird is well undernourished,” Biddulph said in an interview shared with the release. “Between the condition of the bird and the activity that might have happened on the beach the following day, I thought it was best to bring the bird in.”

“Getting it back to the car was quite a challenge,” she said. “We got it into a carrier, a large canvas pet carrier, nice and soft and got it into the car.”

Biddulph took the bird home to her “dedicated penguin enclosure,” she said. There, the penguin was weighed and treated. A local vet and department officials also helped with the animal’s care.

“I’ve never had to deal with a large penguin like this before,” Biddulph said. “They’ve always been a lot smaller — our local little penguins.”

Emperor penguins are the world’s largest penguins, known for their iconic looks and “stately demeanor,” according to Britannica. They typically live on ice shelves of Antarctica, thousands of miles from Australian beaches.

Experts aren’t sure how the emperor penguin that arrived in Western Australia “got so lost,” 9News, an Australian outlet, reported. Officials hope to get the male bird, nicknamed Gus, back home.

“Never in my wildest thoughts would I thought I’d ever have an emperor penguin to care for,” Biddulph said. “It’s just amazing. It’s just a such a privilege to be part of this bird’s journey.”

Denmark, Western Australia, is on the southwestern tip of Australia and the opposite side of the country from Sydney.

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