It appears that a Magellanic Penguin wound up 3,000 miles from his natural habitat:
“It seems he was disoriented and got lost in the sea due to the different ocean currents,” said Wilder Canales, who heads the National Paracas Reserve in southern Peru. “In his endless search for food, he casually climbed up on our shores, something that has never happened before.”
Considering that a skunk that managed to wind up in Toronto, Canada recently hitched a ride back to his home, I wonder if the Peruvians are going to find someone to fly this little guy back home.
Do you think this is just a simple, human interest story, or do you think this is a warning on the truth of global warming and its affect on the earth?
Want to know a bit more about Magellanic Penguins?
I believe the Peruvians do want him to go back to Chile; the report I read said that they were concerned the penguins that live in their area – a different breed entirely – would ostracise him if he stuck around.
I find it interesting he ended up there. 3,000 miles is a long way out of your way after all. I would expect water temperatures to vary. On the other hand, these kinds of strays do seem to happen in a lot of species from time to time due to unintentional disorientation of one kind or another.