One of the Adélie penguins, which normally lives in Antarctica, arrived on the shores of New Zealand, 3,000 kilometers away from its natural habitat. The penguin was found by resident Harry Singh in a South Island settlement. “At first I thought it was a teddy. The penguin suddenly moved its head, I realized it was real,” said Singh, who came across the penguin with his wife while they were out for a walk on the beach at Birdlings Flat, south of Christchurch.
Saying that the penguin looked exhausted, Singh contacted Thomas Stracke of the Rehabilitation Center, worried that it would be prey to other predators. Stracke said she was shocked to learn that the penguin she went with a veterinarian was an Adélie penguin, a species that only lives on the Antarctic peninsula. Stracke stated that the penguin was given the name “Pingu”, and was hungry and thirsty. Pingu will be released on a safe, dog-free shoreline on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island.