An emperor penguin found malnourished far from its Antarctic home on the Australian south coast is being cared for by a wildlife expert, a government department said on Monday.
Advertisement
The adult male, nicknamed Gus, was found on November 1 on a popular tourist beach in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia – about 3,500km (2,200 miles) north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast, according to a statement from the Western Australia state’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
The largest penguin species has never been reported in Australia before, University of Western Australia research fellow Belinda Cannell said, though some had reached New Zealand, nearly all of which is further south than Western Australia.
Cannell said she had no idea why the penguin travelled to Denmark.
Cannell is advising seabird rehabilitator Carol Biddulph who is caring for the penguin, spraying him with a chilled water mist to help him cope with his alien climate. The penguin is 1 metre (39 inches) tall and initially weighed 23kg (51 pounds).
Advertisement
A healthy male can weigh more than 45kg (100 pounds).