On the morning of 7th January 2019, a small very tired penguin was found off Middle Beach Kenton on Sea.
Tired but still plucky trying to snap at any finger nearby.
After a few calls the penguin chick was on its way and by 11h00 it was safe at Sanccob in Port Elizabeth to recuperate before being released into the wild ocean again.
In the process the penguin was referred to as a little blue “Thanks very much for rescuing the little blue”.
This caused a lot of excitement as the Little Blue Penguin (also known as Fairy Penguins) only occurs in colonies in Oamaru, Chatham Island and Banks Peninsula in New Zealand, as well as Phillip Island in Australia and along the coast of Tasmania, around the entire coastline of New Zealand and most of the southern coast of Australia. Surprisingly, lost individuals have been found on the coasts of Chile.
Wow this is great news!!! The excitement was however short lived as the next call confirmed it was in fact an African Penguin chick.
African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus)
Kenton on Sea Jan 2019
Little Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor)
New Zealand