Three weeks after a family found an emperor penguin on the beach in the Australian town of Denmark, he’s returning home. Jazz Bailey shared a video on Facebook of the penguin who somehow made it 2,000 miles from home. Although seeing him waddling on the sand was cute, experts knew they had to get him back to his natural habitat. According to the Associated Press, the Western Australia state government shared that the penguin, nicknamed Gus, was released from a Parks and Wildlife Service boat into the ocean.
Videos by InspireMore
The Penguin Appeared Ill When He Got To Australia
Carol Biddulph, a registered wildlife caregiver, nursed Gus back to good health before he was released into the ocean.
“I really didn’t know whether he was going to make it to begin with because he was so undernourished,” Carol shared.
Carol named the penguin Gus after the first Roman emperor, Augustus. She said being with the penguin in Australia was an incredible time.
“I’ll miss Gus. It’s been an incredible few weeks, something I wouldn’t have missed,” Carol added.
According to the AP, when caregivers rescued Gus, he weighed just 47 pounds. When they released him back into the water, he weighed 54 pounds. A healthy Emperor penguin can weigh more than 100 pounds.
Jazz, who originally shared a video of Gus on the beach on Facebook, also shared a video of his release. The mom wrote about the incredible experience of meeting Gus, the penguin, in Australia, which was for her family.
“Big Impact. Our interaction with Gus had a big impact on us and clearly the rest of the world too. The one thing that I have been reflecting on is just his existence alone is what was so impactful. It reminded me that our own existence can also be impactful to the world by being truly ourselves. May the magic of the ocean guide you home,” she wrote.
This story’s featured image can be found here.
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.
