The juvenile male Adèlie, affectionately nicknamed Pingu by locals, was spotted on Birdlings Flat Beach near Christchurch on Wednesday night.
The Adèlie is native to the Antarctic coastline, and would have swum thousands of miles before reaching his unlikely destination.
New Zealand's Department of Conservation senior ranger Anita Spencer said the agency worked with a rehab team to prepare the penguin for his return journey.
'When he was picked up from the beach a couple of nights ago he was a bit underweight and exhausted,'
'He's been given some fish smoothies. He was looking good and ready to go back to sea.'
The DOC is aware of just two previous Adèlie sightings on the New Zealand mainland, the latest near Kaikoura in 1993.
'I wouldn't say that he was lost though,' Ms Spencer said.
'Juvenile penguins do roam. They don't breed until they are three to six years of age. So he's gone for a trip before making his way back to the colony.'
'He's hopefully heading south but there are no guarantees. It's all up to him really,' Ms Spencer said.
'We picked a south-facing bay with not too many visitors and no dogs.
'He jumped across a couple of boulders, went down to the water's edge, the waves came in and he dove in.'
'They're very vulnerable and the safest place for them is at sea.'
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The Adèlie is native to the Antarctic coastline, and would have swum thousands of miles before reaching his unlikely destination.
New Zealand's Department of Conservation senior ranger Anita Spencer said the agency worked with a rehab team to prepare the penguin for his return journey.
'When he was picked up from the beach a couple of nights ago he was a bit underweight and exhausted,'
'He's been given some fish smoothies. He was looking good and ready to go back to sea.'
The DOC is aware of just two previous Adèlie sightings on the New Zealand mainland, the latest near Kaikoura in 1993.
'I wouldn't say that he was lost though,' Ms Spencer said.
'Juvenile penguins do roam. They don't breed until they are three to six years of age. So he's gone for a trip before making his way back to the colony.'
'He's hopefully heading south but there are no guarantees. It's all up to him really,' Ms Spencer said.
'We picked a south-facing bay with not too many visitors and no dogs.
'He jumped across a couple of boulders, went down to the water's edge, the waves came in and he dove in.'
'They're very vulnerable and the safest place for them is at sea.'
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Source: Daily Mail, Pexels, Department of Conversation
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patryn.worldlatestnews
Source: Daily Mail, Pexels, Department of Conversation
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patryn.worldlatestnews
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