Penguin survives two weeks within the wild regardless of being raised in captivity.
Himakajima is an island in Aichi Prefecture’s Mikawa Bay, south of Nagoya, with a inhabitants of lower than 2,000 individuals. In the course of the lately concluded summer season trip interval, a brief penguin exhibit was arrange on one of many island’s seashores, and every little thing appears to have gone effectively till the final day of the occasion.
On August 25, because the organizers had been taking down the set up, they needed to let the penguins cool off by taking a swim within the ocean whereas every little thing was being packed up. Sadly, whereas a containment web had been put in place to maintain the animals from swimming out to the open sea, one in every of them, a 6-year-old cape penguin named Pen-chan, by some means slipped by way of the enclosure.
Penguins, in fact, should not native to Japan, and Penters, the group that organized the occasion, was notably anxious about Pen-chan, since she was born and raised in captivity, and hasn’t ever needed to hunt for meals within the wild. Sadly, a search of the island’s coastlines failed to seek out the animal, and an approaching hurricane prevented the usage of boats to broaden the search to the encircling seas.
There was a quick glimmer of hope, although, when Pen-chan was noticed at a unique island, Shinojima, to the south of Himakajima.
▼ About three kilometers of sea (1.9 miles) separate the 2 islands.
After the Shinojima sighting, although, a number of days glided by with no developments, till lastly somebody once more noticed Pen-chan on September 8, a full two weeks after the escape. Had she made a U-turn and headed again to Himakajima? Nope, she’d carried out the precise reverse, travelling all the way in which across the tip of the Chita Peninsula and up its west coast to Shin Maiko Marine Park within the city of Chita.
▼ Google Maps doesn’t present the ocean route that Pen-chan presumably took, however it’s roughly 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Himakajima to Shin Maiko Marine Park.
▼ Video of Pen-chan hanging out at Shin Maiko Marine Park
After a park employee noticed Pen-chan and known as out to her, the escapee penguin came to visit and was taken into custody, with Penters coming to select her up quickly after. She’d suffered no accidents throughout her two weeks surviving within the wild, and whereas she’d misplaced somewhat weight, she’d apparently managed to seek out some form of sustenance, and is reportedly in good well being and high quality spirits, although Penters is retaining an in depth eye on her situation earlier than returning her to the exhibition rotation.
Supply: CBC Information, FNN Prime, Sankei Shimbun
High picture: Pakutaso
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