The lost penguin’s 2,000-mile journey to Australia ends with its return to the Southern Ocean

A lone emperor penguin who swam 3,000 kilometers from home has returned.

The Antarctic native was found on a sun-drenched beach in Denmark, Western Australia, on November 1.

Underweight and far from its natural habitat, the penguin, named Guswas taken in by an experienced local seabird rehabilitator, Carol Biddulph.

After twenty days of care, he was returned to the Southern Ocean off the coast of Australia to hopefully return home to the icy waters of Antarctica.

Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) said the Gus had passed several veterinary health checks and was ready for release.

He had gained 8 pounds (3.5 kg) under Biddulph’s care and eventually began drinking salt water from a bathtub.

“He was very thin and so we had to go through a gentle process of refeeding him, not too fast, not too slow, just right, giving him fluids and then slurping down the whole fish,” she said. “And now he only eats whole fish. So he gets fed three times a day and he usually takes about twenty mulies (sardines) per feed per day.”

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She and her husband, Graham, joined the ride to the middle of the ocean to release Gus, giving him familiar faces and voices to help with the stress.

“As a seabird rehabilitator, there are no second chances, there is no soft release. It’s a hard release,” she said. “So you have to make sure he’s in good condition, he’s at his right weight, his plumage is impeccable, his salt gland is working properly and that’s all I can do. The rest is up to him.”

With warm weather approaching in Australia, experts knew the window of opportunity to keep Gus safe was closing.

He was released off the south coast of Western Australia on Wednesday, November 20.

“I’m sure Gus is determined to know which direction to take to get home,” Biddulph said.