He was 2,000 miles from home!
While surfing on an Australian beach last month, surfers were in for a surprise when they spotted an enormous bird emerging from the waves. Expecting to see seagulls, fish, or even a shark, they were taken aback by what they saw.
“It was massive, way bigger than a sea bird, and we were like, ‘What is that thing coming out of the water?’” said Aaron Fowler, one of the surfers, to the Australian Broadcast Corporation. “It stood up in the waves and waddled straight up to us.”
As the bird got closer, it became clear it wasn’t from around there. It was tall, with a black-and-white body and a yellow neck—an emperor penguin.
While Australia is home to a species of miniature penguin, emperor penguins are native to Antarctica, over 2,000 miles away from the beach where this one was found. No emperor penguin has ever been recorded this far from home.
Though the exact reason for the penguin’s unexpected journey is unknown, experts believe it followed a strong current while hunting. While emperor penguins typically travel up to 1,000 miles for food, a journey of 2,000 miles is extraordinary. Due to the long trip, the penguin was underweight, weighing half as much as a healthy adult emperor penguin.
Wildlife rescuers Carol and Graham Biddulph took the penguin in for care and named him Gus, after the Roman emperor Augustus. Over the next three weeks, Gus regained nearly 8 pounds as the rescuers tended to him.
“The care, attention, and efforts of Carol and Graham Biddulph have given this Antarctic bird, found thousands of kilometers outside its home range and in a different climate, a fighting chance of survival,” a representative from Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Attractions (DBCA) stated in a press release.
Once Gus was strong enough, a team of veterinarians and wildlife experts transported him back to the Antarctic Ocean, where he swam into the icy waters of his natural habitat. Hopefully, this time he’ll stay put.