This is the longest journey ever recorded for this species. The first sighting of the record-breaking penguin on Ocean Beach, located on the southern coast of Australia, was made by surfer Aaron Fowler. The man was utterly amazed: how did a penguin manage to swim all the way here from Antarctica, its natural habitat? “It was big, about three feet tall, and we thought: what is that coming out of the water? The penguin stood up and waddled right towards us. It wasn’t shy at all. And it looked immaculate,” the surfer added. He also noted that the tail of the emperor penguin was sticking out “like a duck’s.” “It tried to do something like belly sliding, thinking it was snow, but then it buried its beak in the sand, got up, and shook itself off,” Fowler recounted.
This isn’t just about the longest distance traveled by a member of this species. It marks the northernmost movement of an emperor penguin ever observed in the wild, reported the Daily Mail. The emperor penguin is known as the “giant of the penguin world.” “It may be the only bird that has never set foot on land and has not raised its young on frozen sea,” noted the British Antarctic Survey on its website. “Emperor penguins are true Antarctic birds, rarely found in sub-Antarctic waters,” the survey added.
Expert opinion from Belinda Kennell, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, confirmed that this is the farthest journey of an emperor penguin known to science. “Overall, the furthest point north these birds have reached is around the 50th parallel south, while Ocean Beach is situated at the 35th parallel south, which is significantly further north than any locations where penguins from Antarctica have ever been tracked,” the expert explained. While the nature of this journey remains unclear, Dr. Kennell suggests that the penguin likely swam with the current. “This chick is less than a year old; they usually stay at sea for three to five years before returning to their native colony to breed,” she noted. According to her, emperor penguins typically follow certain currents, which help them find a variety of food. In this case, she believes the currents may have shifted slightly further north than usual. It remains uncertain whether the bird will stay in Australia or return home to Antarctica.
What should you know about the emperor penguin? The emperor penguin, endemic to Antarctica, is the largest flightless bird. It is also the largest of all penguins, reaching heights of up to 4.5 feet and weighing between 49 and 218 pounds. It is easily recognizable by its black back and head, white chest, and yellow patches on its neck. These birds huddle together to keep warm in the icy climate, where temperatures can drop to the lowest on our planet. They raise their chicks on sea ice. Females lay eggs before heading out to hunt for food, while males incubate them. After the chicks are born, parents take turns foraging at sea and caring for the newborns. The diet of emperor penguins primarily consists of fish, but they also eat crustaceans like krill and cephalopods like squid. During hunting, penguins can stay underwater for about 18 minutes, diving to depths of over half a kilometer.