‘Miracle’ penguin found two weeks after making great escape from Japanese zoo and travelling 50km by sea
11 September 2024, 18:03 | Updated: 11 September 2024, 18:11
A penguin who escaped from a zoo in Japan has been found alive two weeks on, in what's been described by zookeepers as a 'miracle'.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Pen-chan, a six-year-old female Cape penguin, escaped from an event being held in Aichi Prefecture, located in Japan's central Honshu Island, on August 25.
The animal was born and raised in captivity, meaning the animal would struggle to survive in the wild, having never swum in the open sea or caught her own food.
Zookeepers became "desperate" following the animal's escape, with the team scouring the local area for any trace of the animal.
However, an incoming typhoon only added to the keepers' desperation, hampering search and rescue attempts and leading members of the search party to rapidly lose hope.
Keepers feared for the penguin's safety following the escape, given the animal had never been required to fend for herself, with keepers suspecting the animal wouldn't get far.
They also feared that without food, the animal would not be able to survive for longer than a week.
However, on September 8, nearly two weeks on the run, the animal was spotted following reports of the flightless bird bobbing in the water some 45 kilometers away.
A call from a concerned member of the public tipped off the team, with keepers arriving to find the penguin happily bobbing along close to the shore.
In an unexpected twist, keepers discovered the 6-year-old African penguin, also known as a Cape Penguin, could only have survived by eating wild fish and crabs it had caught itself.
"I thought she would look exhausted, but she was swimming as usual," a witness told The Japan Times after the animal was recaptured.
"It was beyond my surprise. ... It's a miracle," he said.
"I think she got there by stopping at various places for a break, but it's still unbelievable,
"She lost her weight slightly, but she's doing great."
