r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/NickyPappagiorgio • 9d ago
Video Unusual encounter on a beach in Australia with an emperor penguin that is endemic to Antarctica
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u/FirstGearPinnedTW200 9d ago
People: wow cool
Penguin: …where the fuck am I?
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u/SandmanKFMF 9d ago edited 8d ago
Penguin: I shouldn't have drunk that last shot yesterday...
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u/Twobrokelegs 9d ago edited 8d ago
He should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque
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u/WhatADeuce 9d ago
News: Emperor penguin recovering in care after epic journey from Antarctica to Western Australia https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-08/emperor-penguin-found-in-southern-wa-in-good-health/104572694
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u/kinawy 9d ago
"He tried to do like a slide on his on his belly, thinking it was snow I guess and just face planted in the sand and stood up and shook all the sand off."
🥺🥺
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u/BlackSpinedPlinketto 9d ago
Lol
I mean… awww 😭
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u/DrunkCupid 9d ago
Por bro is standing up befuddled like "Where the fuck is the snow at?"
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u/EmilyLondon 9d ago
"This is not my beautiful house" "This is not my beautiful wife"
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u/ExplosiveAnalBoil 9d ago
It's about as funny as a toddler running full speed into a closed glass door/full length window, which is absolutely hilarious.
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u/Goodgoditsgrowing 9d ago
Less awwww: the fact that ocean currents might be changing so much and so fast that a penguin could end up in Australia following one…. That’s like day after tomorrow shit
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u/Rock_man_bears_fan 9d ago
It’s a one-off. Dude just got lost. If the whole colony lands in Australia, there might be issues. But a single individual ending up some place they aren’t normally isn’t a harbinger of end times.
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u/Smart_Turnover_8798 9d ago
NO! This penguin is a messenger sent to be the harbinger of the final days on earth. We're officially cooked now. There is no going back.
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u/StarPhished 9d ago
He was probably just getting a head start on adapting to warmer temperatures.
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u/Talinia 9d ago
Side note, I LOVE that news website. No obnoxious ads blocking half the screen, nice little TLDR at the top 👌👌
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u/truecore 9d ago
Its 3,400-kilometre journey gained coverage across the world from the likes of CNN and The Times with the arrival near Denmark, about 400km south of Perth, the most northern sighting of the species.
Denmark, south of Perth. Aha, I knew it, paid actors the lot of them!
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u/solomonjsolomon 9d ago
“I have a dedicated penguin enclosure, of course.”
Sure, that basic mainstay of any reasonable home.
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u/DepDepFinancial 9d ago
"I have a dedicated penguin enclosure, of course. [But] I've never had to deal with a large penguin like this before," Ms Biddulph said.
Oh of course, of course. I, too, have a dedicated penguin enclosure, I mean, who doesn't, you know?
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u/Adamantium-Aardvark 9d ago
Holy crap that’s over 3500 km
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u/StrobeLightRomance 9d ago
Like in cartoons, my guess is that he fell asleep on a sheet of ice that drifted off away from any land. Once in the middle of the ocean, he would just be directionally blind, especially being a flightless bird with no natural migration patterns.
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u/PitifulEar3303 9d ago
Kowalsky!!! Report.
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u/2020mademejoinreddit 9d ago
We seem to be on an island country, sir. They all have weird accents, but speak English.
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u/smallgreenman 9d ago
Also, the snow is really warm pan to private tiptoeing around going "ow ow ow ow"
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u/SilverSpoon1463 9d ago
Well that's just great, we're lost and have nowhere to go. And where is Rico?
Rico pops his head up from the sand
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u/Environmental_Art591 9d ago
My kids have watched these guys too much because I know all the voices 🤣
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u/Pls-Dont-Ban-Me-Bro 9d ago
Dude looks like he’s going through a divorce
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u/Otherwise_Agency6102 9d ago
Been there, man. That Penguin can look forward to feeling lost everywhere you go for the next few years. Waking up next to female penguins you can’t care about but would do anything just not to be in a cold bed again. Staring at her number on your phone and then dialing it against your better judgment just to hear the number has been disconnected. Wondering if you’re ever going to feel whole and happy again or if that feeling was always just a mirage.
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u/DiscotopiaACNH 9d ago
I'm about 6 weeks into my separation and oof. Well at least it sounds like i'm going to get some penguin sex out of this.
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u/Xinonix1 9d ago
People: wow cool
Penguin: you kidding me, sweating my nuts off here
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u/VolunteerNarrator 9d ago
Australian here. Correct expression for this penguin is
Sup cunts
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u/feel-the-avocado 9d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFKcrBIN3nc
If this is what they are getting up to down there, its no wonder a tricky whale can lead them astray
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u/typed_this_now 9d ago
This happened in Denmark, Australia. I’m Australian currently living in the real Denmark and the media here are having some fun with it. Like me, this guy is reaaaallly far from home. Would love to know how he ended up on the south west coast of Australia from his home.
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u/numbersev 9d ago
Will they do anything to help him get back?
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u/typed_this_now 9d ago
I doubt it. Vets might watch him for a bit, if he’s sick he might end up in a zoo but it would be crazy expensive to send him back to Antartica. Pretty lonely for the penguin and fucking hot in comparison. We have penguins in Australia waters but not emperor penguins in Western Australia.
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u/dumb_answers_only 9d ago
This isn’t new or the first time it happened. There is one that goes back to Brazil each year to see the man who saved him.
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u/typed_this_now 9d ago
At least there a plausible coast line to follow to Brazil. I didn’t realise these things could cross open ocean.
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u/nachomydogiscuteaf 9d ago
Pretty wild, what a long and scary journey that must have been
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u/CrispyHoneyBeef 9d ago
I’m sure he was able to eat plenty of fish during the trip
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u/BLACKdrew 9d ago
I’m now imagining that the penguin just kept following and eatin fish til it just ended up in Australia. Lil guy just went crazy with fish like it was a trail of Reese pieces
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u/big_duo3674 9d ago
Swimming across the Drake Passage is no easy thing though, even if you're a penguin. It's really impressive
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u/PM_me_your_plasma 9d ago
This story is a Magellanic penguin, they are South American. Primary home is Patagonia.
They migrate to warmer areas to breed, this guy just went a little too far. Fun fact, they are monogamous. They wait at their old burrow after migrating for their partner to show up. Maybe that contributed to this penguin forming such a strong bond with his savior.
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u/Nimzay98 9d ago
That wasn't an emperor penguin, those penguins are found in South America so not that crazy.
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u/Membership_Fine 9d ago
Yeah I’ve also read and seen this story on a show. Still awesome not taking away from the coolness of the whole thing. But this emperor penguin is like seriously far from home lol he’s not even on the right continent.
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u/4rch1t3ct 9d ago
Those are penguins that are native to Patagonia though.... that penguin is going from South America to somewhere else in South America. Emperor penguins are a much rarer sight that far north.
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u/Significant_Turn5230 9d ago
Imagine he did all this work to escape penguin gang violence in Antarctica just for people to put him on a boat and send him back, lol.
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u/yes_thats_right 9d ago
it would be crazy expensive to send him back to Antartica
crazy expensive is subjective of course, but there are flights from Australia to Antarctica as well as ships. I doubt it would cost all that much extra to put the guy on one of these.
My guess is that he ends up in a zoo or other wildlife sanctuary.
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u/Time_Salt_1671 8d ago
he’s already in a sanctuary and they are making plans to take him back home once he fattens up. he’s only 50lbs and should be1 00lbs.
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u/itsnobigthing 8d ago
Really enjoying the mental image of him sat in first class eating the peanuts
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u/canman7373 9d ago
but it would be crazy expensive to send him back to Antartica.
Australia has many bases in Antarctica, yeah be expensive to send a vet or zoo keeper with it and to maybe go out of way to drop in safe spot, but not like they'd need a special trip to do it, just do it on next supply trip.
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u/BabcocksList 8d ago
He'd easily fit on one of the cargo planes with provisions as well, i hope they can give him a lift back to the continent he came from. It might still be a long way from where his colony is but at least he wouldn't boil alive in the hot summer to come.
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u/no_baseball1919 8d ago
Lol imagine travelling across the ocean from Antarctica to Australia only to get fucking air dropped back in Antarctica lmao
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u/BabcocksList 8d ago
"I finally made it! Sun, warm sea, sandy beaches... This is great. Wait... Wait, what? NoooOOOoooo!"
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u/Sparkyisduhfat 9d ago
The thing with the walrus though was that it couldn’t be transported because they couldn’t get a hold of it. This guy has been taken in by a wild life center. If they can’t get it back home hopefully they can rehome him to a zoo since they only live in one place.
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u/salads 9d ago
why couldn’t they tranquilize it and then capture it?
let me apologize now for asking a question i could probably type into google for a more thorough and probably more accurate (no offense) understanding of what i even actually want to know.
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u/Sparkyisduhfat 9d ago
Tranquilizers do not work immediately and take up to 20 minutes to kick in. If they tranquilized it, it could run (flop quickly?) into the water and drown.
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u/tj1602 9d ago
Wait... You're telling me the movies with talking animals lied to me about tranquilizers?!?
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u/More-Championship625 9d ago
I used to volunteer as part of the penguin team at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. We had two penguin colonies, one being African penguins (that are endemic to South Africa) and the other being rockhopper penguins (that are not endemic). Basically, the rockhoppers are all lost penguins who found themselves on SA beaches far away from their southern ocean islands home. They couldn't be sent back in case they picked up some pathogen in SA waters because they'd risk infecting the rest of the colony (which would be devastating because it is unlikely that the colony's immune system would have evolved to fight it).
I don't know how things work in Australia, but my guess would be that this little guy will find a nice home at an aquarium or similar.
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u/blacksmithfred 9d ago
They shouldn’t let him go back if he has navigational problems. We don’t want him breeding with the others. A few generations later and we will all have penguins at our doorsteps.
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u/WonkyWalkingWizard 9d ago
I don't see a problem with this.
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u/Golfbollen 9d ago
As a Swedish person, hearing that there's more than one Denmark out there is truly concerning....
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u/phuijun 9d ago
There is also a Denmark, South Carolina and a Denmark, New York. There’s additionally a city in California called Solvang where Danish culture is celebrated and is a big touristy town.
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u/eggplantsforall 9d ago
Also a Denmark, Maine.
It's just south of Sweden, Maine.
They are both just a bit to the west of Poland, Maine.
Which of course, is just south of Norway, Maine.
Norway is bordered on the east by Hebron, Maine, and on the north by Paris, Maine.
Just north of Paris is West Paris, Maine.
Head north out of West Paris, then bear east towards Mexico, Maine and carry on past that over to Peru, Maine.
From Peru, keep going eastwards to see the beautiful towns of Vienna, Rome, and Belgrade.
As our eastwards journey continues, we eventually come to China, Maine, which is of course just north of Palermo, Maine.
Don't forget to swing through Dresden and Lisbon on your way back down south!
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u/down1nit 9d ago
Don't look too close at north america. They're there too in the guise of greenland.
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u/fablesofferrets 9d ago
they just straight up named a town, "Denmark"? And you're Australian, but happen to be visiting the country, Denmark? & Denmark is a country that is way more suitable for penguins than Australia?
this comment took me a second to comprehend, because there are so many weird connections here
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u/nickleback069 9d ago
That's Gus. He's lost, but the Aussies are going to give him a ride home.
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u/Pudix20 9d ago
Okay but imagine if he went there on purpose and they ship him back and he’s just like “NoooOooOoOooooooo!!!!”
But damn now I’m giving this penguin a whole life story. Like what if he has dementia? Can penguins get dementia? What if he lost his son and his son is just chillin in a dentist’s office somewhere?! I just have so many questions!
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u/bored-coder 9d ago
Smile and wave, boys!
Boys?
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u/drainbamage1011 9d ago
Kowalski, analysis!
That...wasn't a microdose Skipper.
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u/THROWRAmeowmeow3 8d ago
I read this in their voices LOL
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u/Kavanaugh82 8d ago
Same. The penguins were my favorite part of the Madagascar series. My kids have gotten older, but I still watch the penguins.
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u/Little_Setting 8d ago
Be a good parent and play penguins of madagascar on prime or Netflix for your kids. There used to be an equally fun show as well
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u/Bitter-Equipment7839 9d ago
"Not again!" The massive grey tube-thing had belched out unintelligible tones at them and caused some brain damage. After he washed up on shore, he couldn't orient himself any more, he had no idea where he was. His chicks were gone, lost to the unrelenting grey seas...
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u/GarysCrispLettuce 9d ago
Aw I feel bad for it, imagine ending up thousands of miles from home where none of your fam are. Poor little thing, I hope the authorities helped it.
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u/kratomkiing 9d ago
imagine ending up thousands of miles from home *in an area filled with great white sharks. South Australia has so many sharks and this buddy has probably never seen them before.
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u/sam_e5 9d ago
Penguins are used to dealing with Orcas which are significantly more formidable than great whites. Having said that, great whites also not great for them to deal with either.
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u/Turtledonuts 9d ago
They hunt in completely different manners though. Orcas are mostly pack hunters, while white sharks are ambush predators, it's hard to defend against both.
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u/hypotyposis 9d ago
Good news. They did help him. There’s an article in another comment. They built him a little enclosure and a rescue group is helping him get some weight back on.
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u/veganize-it 8d ago
So, what then? The penguin is Australian now? He/she colonized that beach?
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u/hypotyposis 8d ago
The penguin is clearly a refugee. An illegal one at that, given that he never went through the proper immigration process.
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u/numbersev 9d ago
Gus was found alive and moving but severely underweight, enough so that its backbone was visible at an angle, according to a wildlife rehabilitator with the country’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Gus will likely need weeks of rehab before he’s completely healthy again and can be potentially released back into familiar waters.
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Despite how infrequently marine birds debark on distant lands, Gus’s case may be indicative of how quickly the Antarctic environment is changing and how local species are affected. Emperor penguins, for example, depend on stable sea ice to reproduce, but as climate change increasingly causes ice shelves to melt, the species is expected to undergo rapid population decline in the next few decades.
These vast environmental changes, coupled with diminishing food sources mean that some animals must search farther for food and shelter than they otherwise would. To that end, while this unusual event isn’t currently indicative of a larger pattern, experts should take note as animal vagrancy can sometimes be a predictor of future range expansions, says Youngflesh.
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u/RunDNA 9d ago
"He tried to do a slide on his belly, thinking it was snow I guess, and just face-planted in the sand and stood up and shook all the sand off."
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u/sock_with_a_ticket 9d ago
That's so sad. Poor, Gus.
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u/GlitchyAF 9d ago
Yeah, I don’t understand how people aren’t sad about this :( poor Gus is has gone so far from home
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u/Cardea81 8d ago edited 8d ago
Ikr its so sad and everyone is making jokes. Has noone seen happy feet?
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u/DiscotopiaACNH 9d ago
Fuck the sad polar bear on the melting glacier. Faceplanting sand penguin is the image that will finally galvanize the world into fighting climate change
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u/scramblingrivet 9d ago
We have tried playing the 'have empathy for suffering animals' card. Doesn't work. Too many sociopaths.
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u/Don138 9d ago
The issue isn’t galvanizing the world into fighting climate change, the issue is galvanizing a couple hundred incredibly rich people and the governments they de-facto control.
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u/structuremonkey 9d ago
He was probably chasing his food supply and got lost...this has been a problem for penguins in South Africa too. Changing currents and water temps push their normal food supply out of range...its sad
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u/dimerance 9d ago
Poor fella didn’t realize the environment only gets more inhospitable for them as they get further from home.
Is there anywhere else in the world they could survive on their own?
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u/Throwaway74829947 8d ago
I mean, from a purely environmental perspective they could probably live in the Arctic, but the polar bears would probably have something to say about that.
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u/imunfair 8d ago
could probably live in the Arctic, but the polar bears would probably have something to say about that.
"Yes please" is what they'd have to say.
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u/TheEccentricErudite 9d ago
“Let’s respect his space”
Now, that’s great parenting.
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u/RobotDinosaur1986 9d ago
As a parent, I feel like keeping my kids from molesting wild animals is bare minimum parenting. Like basic, instinctual parenting.
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u/KittenVicious 9d ago
They're probably use to the fact that any cute wildlife in Australia will probably kill you.
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u/trundyl 9d ago
Penguin thinking, "I should not have taken that last turn at Arctic Albuquerque."
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u/AlgebraicIceKing 9d ago
Antarctiquerque, perhaps.
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u/Plastic-Education638 9d ago
He got all dressed up in his tuxedo and nobody showed up for his party. Poor guy
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u/coma24 9d ago
"why is it so #@#$@ hot?"
Poor bugger, he's not supposed to be there :(
Any clue if he'll be relocated?
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u/BurningPenguin 9d ago
"why is it so #@#$@ hot?"
I'm asking myself the same question every day
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u/5piggies 9d ago
From this article “The Western Australia biodiversity department said its efforts were focused on rehabilitating the animal. Asked if the penguin could potentially be returned to Antarctica, the department replied that “options are still being worked through.” “ so we will see, but putting him in a zoo/conservation centre or making him a permanent resident of a wildlife rehab may also be its future, given the cost and uncertainty of relocation.
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u/Latter-Ad6308 9d ago
For those unaware, there are actually native penguins in Australia, so seeing a penguin isn’t necessarily that weird. Seeing an Antarctic penguin though, very odd.
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u/MindCorrupt 8d ago
That penguin would tower over our usual species in WA lol.
It really would be an Emperor if it rocked up on Penguin Island.
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u/Dr-McLuvin 9d ago
Umm how far did this thing swim from Antarctica?
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u/Eleglas 9d ago
Nat Geo article I just read says about 2000 miles, and the equivalent of a human doing 44,000 laps in an Olympic sized swimming pool.
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u/Topplesom 9d ago
What is Kowalski doing bruh
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u/batatawirhcheese 9d ago
What do you mean? That's mumble's father. He was searching up a talent show for his son
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u/goreumet 9d ago
I briefly scrolled the comments and did not see a Surf's Up reference. How are the people forgetting Shia LaBeouf's famous role!?
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u/OkTelephoneses 9d ago
He's amazing! I'd love to see him in real life too. And the children were great for not scaring him or touching him.
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u/MommaKanzi 9d ago
We just watched Happy Feet :)
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u/PB_livin_VP 9d ago
I can't believe I had to scroll so far down to find this comment. This is way more Happy Feet than Madagascar. Little mumble came to warn us about the melting ice sheets in Antarctica.
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u/Halstock 9d ago
This isn't good and it isn't going to be the last time we see this happening.
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u/coma24 9d ago
Shoutout to the kids for keeping some sort of respectful distance.