MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An emperor penguin found malnourished and far from its Antarctic home off Australia’s southern coast is being cared for by a wildlife expert, a government department said Monday.
The adult male was found Nov. 1 on a popular tourist beach in the town of Denmark in temperate southwestern Australia — about 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) north of the frigid waters off the Antarctic coast, according to a department statement. of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions of the State of Western Australia.
The largest penguin species has never been documented in Australia, said Belinda Cannell, a researcher at the University of Western Australia, although some had reached New Zealand, Australia’s neighbor and almost entirely south of Denmark. .
Cannell said he had no idea why the penguin traveled to Denmark.
Cannell is advising seabird rehabilitator Carol Biddulph, who is caring for the penguin and spraying it with a mist of cold water to help it cope with the alien weather. The penguin is 1 meter (39 in) tall and initially weighed 23 kilograms (51 lb).
A healthy male can weigh more than 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
The department said its efforts are focused on rehabilitating the penguin. Asked if the penguin could be returned to Antarctica, the department responded that “options are still being evaluated.”
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
