An emperor penguin has become the first wild member of its species to ever set foot on Australian shores.
But this is no royal tour — the 1m-tall bird was malnourished and thousands of kilometres from its home in Antarctica, in an unfamiliar and unforgiving climate.
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The adult male penguin reportedly weighed in at just 23kg, when usually they can weigh up to 45kg, and is now in the care of a rescuer who has experience with penguins — just not any this big.
Emperor penguins are endemic to Antarctica, meaning they are not found anywhere else in the world.
On rare occasions emperor penguins have been found in the southernmost parts of New Zealand but this landing on Ocean Beach in Denmark, Western Australia, on November 1 is believed to be the furthest north one has ever travelled.
It is estimated the penguin would have travelled approximately 3000km.
A beachgoer reported seeing the penguin before the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions sent registered carer Carol Biddulph in.
“Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined I’d have an emperor penguin to care for,” Biddulph said.
Because of its malnourished state, the decision was made to remove the penguin from the wild to avoid potential threats from dogs, cats, foxes and vehicles.
“The bird sort of turned on an angle and I could see its backbone protruding and I thought, ‘This bird is well under-nourished’,” she said.
“Between the condition of the bird and the activity on the beach … I thought it was best to bring it in.”
But that was easier said than done given the penguin’s size, even when malnourished, Biddulph added.
“Getting it back to the car was quite a challenge,” she said.
“I got it into a large canvas pet carrier and got it into the car.”
Biddulph, an experienced seabird rehabilitator, has a dedicated penguin enclosure — however it was built for “much smaller local little penguins”.
“It’s amazing, it’s such a privilege to be a part of this bird’s journey,” Biddulph said.
She is being supported by the DBCA with expert advice from a local vet and the University of Western Australia research fellow Dr Belinda Cannell, who has 20-plus years’ experience with penguins.
Cannell told ABC News it was the first time an emperor penguin has been seen so far north and may have followed a current north from Antarctica, CNN reported.
“What they tend to do is follow certain currents where they’re going to find lots of different types of food,” Cannell told ABC.
“So maybe those currents have just tended to be a little bit further north towards Australia than they normally would.”
Local surfer Aaron Fowler told the ABC he saw the penguin emerging from the sea.
“It was massive, it was way bigger than a sea bird and we’re like, ‘What is that thing coming out of the water?’ And it kind of had a tail sticking out like a duck,” Fowler said.
“It stood up in the waves and just waddled straight up to us, an emperor penguin — he was probably about 1m high, and he was not shy at all.
“He tried to do like a slide on his belly, thinking it was snow, I guess, and just face-planted in the sand and stood up and shook all the sand off.”
Further updates on the penguin’s condition, and whether it can be returned to the wild, will be provided as the rehabilitation process continues, DBCA said.