MELBOURNE, Australia — The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach, officials said Friday.
He had been cared for by registered wildlife caregiver Carol Biddulph, who named him Gus after the first Roman emperor Augustus.
Gus gained weight in her care, from 21.3 kilograms (47 pounds) when he was found to 24.7 kilograms (54 pounds).
A healthy male emperor penguin can weigh more than 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
The largest penguin species has never been reported in Australia before, University of Western Australia research fellow Belinda Cannell said, though some had reached New Zealand, nearly all of which is further south than Western Australia.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Officials said Friday that the lone emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was set free at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a well-known tourist beach.
On November, the adult male was located. According to the Western Australian state government, 1 on Ocean Beach sand dunes in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia is located roughly 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast. On Wednesday, he was taken off a Parks and Wildlife Service boat.
Before releasing the penguin into the Southern Ocean, the boat traveled for several hours from Albany, the southernmost city in the state; however, the government did not specify the distance in its statement.
Carol Biddulph, a registered wildlife carer, had been taking care of him and had given him the name Gus, after the first Roman emperor Augustus.
Biddulph stated in a video taken prior to the bird’s release but made public by the government on Friday, “I really didn’t know whether he was going to make it to begin with because he was so undernourished.”.
“Gus will be missed. I wouldn’t have missed the amazing past few weeks,” she continued.
Since mirrors give lone penguins a reassuring sense of companionship, Biddulph said she had discovered through caring for other species of lone penguins that they were a crucial component of their rehabilitation.
He adores his large mirror, which I believe has been essential to his wellbeing. He frequently stands by the mirror, and they are gregarious creatures,” she remarked.
When he was discovered, Gus weighed 21.3 kilograms (47 pounds), but while in her care, his weight increased to 24.7 kilograms (54 pounds). He is 39 inches (1 meter) tall. The weight of a male emperor penguin in good health can exceed 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
Although some of the largest penguin species have made it to New Zealand, which is almost entirely further south than Western Australia, Belinda Cannell, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, said that the species has never before been documented in Australia.
According to the government, it had been urgent to get Gus back in the ocean so he could thermoregulate because the summer in the Southern Hemisphere was quickly approaching.
During their up to month-long foraging expeditions, emperor penguins have been known to travel up to 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), according to the government.
