MELBOURNE, Australia — An emperor penguin, the first of its kind to swim from Antarctica to Australian shores, was set free at sea after spending 20 days recuperating after its unusual arrival at a popular beach, officials reported on Friday.
Discovered on November 1, the adult male penguin had wandered onto the sand dunes of Ocean Beach in Denmark, located in the temperate region of southwest Australia, approximately 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) away from its icy native waters near Antarctica, according to information shared by the Western Australia state government. The penguin was released into the Southern Ocean from a designated Parks and Wildlife Service boat on Wednesday.
The release operation required several hours of travel from Albany, the southernmost city in the state, before the penguin was set free, although the specific distance traveled wasn’t specified in the government statement.
Cared for by registered wildlife caregiver Carol Biddulph, the penguin was affectionately named Gus, a tribute to the first Roman emperor, Augustus. Biddulph expressed her initial concerns about Gus’s health due to severe malnutrition when he was discovered.
“I really didn’t know whether he was going to make it to begin with because he was so undernourished,” Biddulph stated in a video released by officials. “I’ll miss Gus. It’s been an incredible few weeks, something I wouldn’t have missed,” she added with a hint of sadness.
Through her experience with rehabilitating similar solitary penguins, Biddulph found that introducing mirrors proved essential for their recovery, as it gave them a comforting sense of companionship. “He absolutely loves his big mirror and I think that has been crucial in his well-being. They’re social birds and he stands next to the mirror most of the time,” she explained.
Under her attentive care, Gus’s weight climbed from 21.3 kilograms (47 pounds) at the time of discovery to a healthier 24.7 kilograms (54 pounds). Standing at 1 meter (39 inches) tall, he still had a long way to go, as healthy male emperor penguins can exceed 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
According to Belinda Cannell, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, this particular species of penguin has not previously been documented in Australia, although some have appeared in New Zealand, which is almost entirely situated further south than Western Australia.
Noting the impending Southern Hemisphere summer, the government emphasized the importance of promptly returning Gus to his ocean habitat, where he would be able to effectively regulate his body temperature. Emperor penguins are known to embark on foraging expeditions that can cover distances of up to 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) over the course of several weeks, underscoring their remarkable endurance in the wild.