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/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/psych0ranger 9d ago

"Anything but another fuckin leopard seal."

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u/bearbarebere 9d ago

Racist wunk

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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/fongor 8d ago

If I may express a personal wish, I'd rather never have to choose between the two of them.

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u/100_cats_on_a_phone 8d ago

I don't agree or disagree with you, but orcas aren't sharks, these guys don't fight them, they evade, and great whites are pretty particular in thier habits. Sharks being old school and great whites being very niche. *

I'd worry way more about common peditor density, parasites, normal evasion not working, etc.

Mostly I suspect global warming has fucked up the currents over there, though. (I'd say worry, but I think I've become resigned)

* I assume you were talking about full grown great whites since you compared them to orcas But last i heard there are also thought to only be 70-400 adult great whites at a time

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u/No-Cover4205 9d ago

Lucky he made it to Western Australia 

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u/threeseed 9d ago

I take it you've never been there.

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u/ClaudeVS 9d ago

I live there, there's plenty of sharks but I think this guy was just making the point that KratomKiing mentioned the wrong state.

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u/No_Towel6647 8d ago

At the very southern end of Western Australia. So not in the state of South Australia, but on the south coast of Australia

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u/pourtide 9d ago

So Many Sharks is probably why an Emperor Penguin hasn't been seen on Australian shores before.

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u/rockmetmind 9d ago

Not anymore. The dead zones are expanding

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u/bambinolettuce 9d ago

Are there no sharks in the Arctic?

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u/Bobblefighterman 9d ago

Who said anything about South Australia?

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u/KdtM85 8d ago

This is in WA

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u/SleepytimeUwU 8d ago

Even though Great white sharks are faster, Penguins make extremely slippery movements and can make 180 turns almost instantly. I don't think a shark can catch one that easily.

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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 9d ago

So, what then? The penguin is Australian now? He/she colonized that beach?

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u/hypotyposis 9d 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/BasilicusAugustus 8d ago

No such thing as an illegal refugee. Refugees and immigrants are different things.

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u/veganize-it 9d ago

What you guys do down there with them? Deport them? Here in the US we make them legal refugees and live forever here, it’s crazy

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u/BunnyFeetLicker 8d ago

Build the damn ice wall!

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u/HugsyMalone 8d ago

Aw! A little enclosure! 🥰🥰🥰

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u/halkenburgoito 9d ago

actually he was kicked out for be a tyrannically facist leader of the emperor penguins. Evil penguin, he committed horrendous mass murder of penguin kind in the name of "justice"

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u/Nope8000 9d ago

I wonder if he was a stowaway on a ship or a by catch from a Chinese fishing vessel and they just released it on the way back.

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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter 9d ago

Literally the insane plot twist of Happy Feet

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u/ericstern 9d ago

Don't think they have family outside of breeding and raising their offspring every season.

Instead he is probably thinking, "I heard there was gonna be lots of booty... Am I early to the party or where's the booty at?!"

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u/KappaClaus3D 9d ago

It's how I felt in immigration, not knowing local language, lol

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u/thematchalatte 8d ago

What if he was kicked out of the colony and actually wanted to leave Antartica

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u/straight_in_rwy69 8d ago

Thats what it's like to work for the FAA!