An emperor penguin has been found far from its Antarctic home on the Australian south coast, marking the first recorded sighting of the species in the country. The adult male penguin, now nicknamed Gus, was discovered on November 1 on a popular tourist beach in the town of Denmark, located in temperate southwest Australia, approximately 430 kilometers south of Perth. The sighting has been described as the northernmost record of the Antarctic species.
Local surfer Aaron Fowler, a 37-year-old drywall repairman from Denmark, first spotted the penguin while heading back to the parking lot after a day at the beach. Fowler recounted his surprise upon seeing the large bird emerging from the water. "We saw something coming out of the water," he said. Initially mistaking it for a seabird, he soon realized it was much larger. "Oh, that’s way too big," he thought, noting its big, long neck and a tail sticking out like a duck's.
The penguin, measuring around a meter tall, wasn't shy at all. "It stood up in the water and waddled straight up to us and just started cleaning itself," Fowler added. The penguin's behavior amused the onlookers as it tried to slide on its belly, thinking it was snow, but face-planted in the sand, stood up, and shook all the sand off. "He did a little belly slide on the sand; I think he thought it was snow," Fowler observed, according to The Independent. The penguin seemed completely happy and unafraid of the humans on the beach. "We were in shock," Fowler said. "There is always a bit of wildlife in the water but never a penguin."
Upon discovering that the penguin appeared malnourished, Fowler alerted the authorities. The Western Australia state's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions made an announcement regarding the penguin's condition and location. The department stated that its efforts were focused on rehabilitation of the penguin, which is currently under the care of registered wildlife carer and seabird rehabilitator Carol Biddulph in Western Australia. Rehabilitation is expected to take a few weeks.
Biddulph, who usually cares for smaller local penguins, is spraying the emperor penguin with chilled water mist to help him cope with the warmer climate. "Never in my wildest thoughts would I have thought I’d ever have an emperor penguin to care for. It’s just amazing. It's just such a privilege to be part of this bird's journey," she said. The penguin, weighing 23 kilograms when he was found, is being monitored closely, as healthy male emperor penguins can weigh more than 45 kilograms.
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Experts are baffled by the penguin's unexpected arrival in Australia, as the emperor penguin species has never been reported in the country before. Dr. Belinda Cannell, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, is advising Biddulph in the penguin's care. "The largest penguin species has never been reported in Australia before," she said, referring to the emperor penguin. Cannell noted that some emperor penguins had reached New Zealand, Australia's neighbor almost entirely south of Denmark, but they have never been tracked this far north. "The tracked ones have never reached this far," she stated.
She suggested that the penguin might have followed a current to Australia. "What they tend to do is follow certain currents where they're going to find lots of different types of food. So maybe those currents have just tended to be a little bit further north towards Australia than they normally would," Cannell explained. The town of Denmark is about 3,500 kilometers north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast. This unprecedented journey for an emperor penguin raises questions about the impacts of climate change on their habitat.
Emperor penguins breed and rear their chicks on sea ice during the winter, but the situation for their species in Antarctica is increasingly uncertain due to global warming and the impacts of melting ice. The species is particularly vulnerable to changes brought on by rising ocean temperatures and declining sea ice, which are impacting their habitat. Emperor penguins are among the species directly threatened by the rising temperature of the oceans and seas across the world, with three-quarters of their breeding colonies vulnerable to fluctuations in the annual sea ice cover in the Antarctic.
Wildlife officials are considering options for the malnourished emperor penguin's future, but returning it to Antarctica has not been ruled out. However, transporting the penguin could be stressful, and it may have to find its own way home once nursed back to health. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions stated that "options are still being worked through" regarding the penguin's future.
As Gus continues his recovery, Biddulph remains dedicated to his care. "Never in my wildest thoughts would I have thought I’d ever have an emperor penguin to care for," she reiterated. "It's just amazing. It's just such a privilege to be part of this bird's journey."
Sources: AP, La Voz del Interior, The Hindu, CBS News, More Radio, LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX), The Business Times, The Independent, Home, Clarín
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq