An emperor penguin that swam almost 3500 kilometres from Antarctica to Western Australia in the longest recorded journey for the species has been returned to the wild after spending time recovering and regaining weight.
The penguin, affectionately named “Gus” by registered wildlife carer Carol Biddulph and her husband Graham, put on 3.5 kilograms in their care.
Biddulph said she hadn’t named Gus for the first few days as she had been unsure if he was going to make it.
“Our main concern to begin with was that the bird was very malnourished. He was very thin, and so we had to go through a gentle process of refeeding him – not too fast, not too slow, just right,” she said.
“He showed all those positive signs. So I thought, ‘Oh, time for a name’. And then I was just thinking of emperors of the past and thought of Emperor Augustus for some crazy reason, and shortened version of Gus just seemed to suit him.”
The couple joined a DBCA officer and a veterinarian on Wednesday as they ventured out on a small boat to release Gus back into the wild, 16 days after he was taken into care.
Biddulph said she believed having their familiar faces and voices with him during a stressful boat journey would make it easier.
“Emperor penguins do recognise faces and I know that from other birds in rehabilitation. They do recognise you, they do get familiar with you,” she said.
“It’s been the most incredible experience, and I’ve just loved it. But to see him swim off home, that’s the icing on the cake. He can get home and get back to his penguin community and just enjoy life.
“Even though we’ll never know, I hope Gus has really enjoyed this experience.
“I’ve got every confidence he’s going to make it. He got here unscathed even though he was a bit skinny, so he’s got every chance of getting back [to Antarctica].”
Parks and Wildlife Service regional wildlife officer Ian Wheeler said Gus had jumped into the water like he’d been “hanging out to get there”.
“Carol’s done an amazing job looking after the penguin, and I think from Carol’s point of view it’d be a real highlight seeing the bird slip back into the water as beautifully as that. It was your classic release,” he said.
“He looked just so at home. It’s good to see and, hopefully, he’ll be able to catch some good fish and make his way home.”
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