Enlarge image
A rare guest in New Zealand: an Adélie penguin from Antarctica
Photo: Allanah Purdie / dpa
A penguin from Antarctica has made a 3,000-kilometer journey to New Zealand.
The animal, an Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), was spotted by a local resident on the South Island on a beach on the Banks Peninsula near Christchurch, as reported by the New Zealand portal »Stuff« and the BBC.
According to data from the New Zealand Birds Online encyclopedia, this was only the third time since records began that an Adélie penguin reached New Zealand from Antarctica.
Why the flightless seabird swam so far is unclear.
Released back into nature
The penguin was a little underweight and dehydrated, said Thomas Stracke, a summoned penguin expert, according to the portal.
He got fluids and fish smoothies.
The animal can be seen on a video that the finder of the penguin shot and it looks quite jolly.
After his stay in a care center in Christchurch, it was released back into the wild on Friday, reported »Stuff«.
Before his flying visit, according to the encyclopedia, the carcass of an Adélie penguin had been found in Marlborough in 1962, and a living specimen was discovered in Kaikoura in 1993.
According to the information, typical of the Adélie penguin is, among other things, the white ring around the eye, which can be clearly seen in the photos and the video on the »Stuff« page.
wit / dpa