Malnourished emperor penguin that swam ashore in Australia 2,000 miles from home a quandary for rescuers
CBSN
Melbourne, Australia — An emperor penguin found malnourished far from its Antarctic home on the Australian south coast is being cared for by a wildlife expert, a government department said Monday.
The adult male was found on Nov. 1 on a popular tourist beach in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia — about 2,200 miles north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast, according to a statement from the Western Australia state's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
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, Australia's neighbor almost entirely south of Denmark. It is believed to be the furthest north — and thus the furthest from their natural habitat — that a wild emperor penguin has ever been spotted.
