King penguin fed-up with the icy cold climate of Antarctica takes a 6000km summer holiday to Australia – leaving animal experts baffled as he waddles along the beach
A king penguin who mysteriously traveled 6,000km to Australia has left animal experts baffled.
The Friends of Shorebirds South East (FOSSE) had just completed a survey of local wildlife along the Coorong, a stretch of coastline south of Adelaide, on January 15 when the Antarctic penguin suddenly emerged from the water.
Despite being far from home, the waterfowl was fearless enough to walk to the group’s car before making “strange braying noises.”
The same holiday penguin visited fisherman Steve Jenkins a few weeks later on Australia Day at Wreck Crossing, along the Coorong.
A king penguin has shocked a group of local birdwatchers after emerging from the waters along the Coorong, a stretch of coastline south of Adelaide, on January 15 (pictured)
FOSSE president Jeff Campbell said the penguin could have landed on the beach to molt – a three- and four-week process in which all of the bird’s feathers are replaced.
Mr Campbell said the bird approached them, apparently out of curiosity, and that he ‘wouldn’t be surprised if this bird has never seen a human before’.
“It came from a sub-Antarctic island like Heard Island or Macquarie Island and landed here, so probably never encountered a human before and didn’t know humans could be dangerous,” he told the ABC.
Footage of the encounter by Mr Jenkins shows the penguin slowly waddling through the sand just meters away from the fisherman.
He told the national broadcaster that the bird stayed for a few hours until he started packing up and leaving.
Mr Jenkins posted the images on the locals’ Facebook page with the caption ‘the things that say hello on Australia Day’.
The penguin was about 6,000 km away from its natural habitat in Antarctica and was surprisingly curious to get close to the locals (pictured)
Seeing a king penguin on the Australian coast is extremely rare, with only two recorded sightings in the last 40 years.
The last sighting was in 2004 at Port MacDonnell, near the Victorian border, and before that was in 1987 near Canuda National Park, west of Mount Gambier.
What would normally be a unique event was instead the second time a king penguin had been seen, as FOSSE’s secretary Maureen Christie was also present at the 2004 sighting.
Ms Christie said the penguin’s current location is currently unknown and urged beachgoers not to get too close to the penguin if they come across it.
She also said that dogs pose a particular danger to the animals because they are likely to be curious about them and could be attacked.