Antarctic penguin swims 3000 km to New Zealand
The Adélie penguin after arriving in New Zealand.
A rare guest: a penguin from Antarctica made the nearly 3,000-kilometre journey to New Zealand. The animal, an Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), was spotted on a beach on the Banks Peninsula near Christchurch in the South Island.
According to data from the New Zealand Birds Online encyclopedia, this was only the third time that an Adélie penguin had been recorded in New Zealand from Antarctica. It was not clear at first why the flightless bird swam so far. According to the encyclopedia, Adélie penguins are abundant in the Ross Sea but rarely make their way to New Zealand.
Interesting nature news of the day!
The Adélie Penguin appeared in today’s Canterbury from Antarctica. Only another Adélie penguin was seen in Aotearoa (Kaikoura in 1993). Video taken by Harry Singh and republished with permission. pic.twitter.com/mMfTQmRFWj
– Elliot Weir (@ellotjweir) November 11, 2021
Thomas Strack, the recalled penguin expert, said the penguin was slightly underweight and dehydrated, according to the Stuff Portal. He got liquid and fish juices. The feathered visitor can be seen on a video in which he appears to be looking for a penguin shot and looks very hilarious. Stuff reports that after staying in a care center in Christchurch, he was released back into the wild on Friday.
Before visiting the plane, the body of an Adélie penguin was found in Marlborough in 1962, and a live specimen was discovered in Kaikoura in 1993. According to the encyclopedia, one of the typical features of the Adélie penguin is the white ring around the eye, which can be clearly seen in the photos and videos on the page “Stuff”. (sda/dpa)
Gay penguin couple “adopt” chicks
Video: Watson
This may also interest you:
“Coffee trailblazer. Social media ninja. Unapologetic web guru. Friendly music fan. Alcohol fanatic.”