The lost emperor

WELLINGTON (New Zealand): A young Emperor penguin took a rare wrong turn from the Antarctic and ended up stranded on a New Zealand beach — the first time in 44 years the aquatic bird has been sighted in the wild in the South Pacific country.

Local resident Christine Wilton was taking her dog for a walk on Peka Peka Beach on the North Island's western coast when she discovered the bird on Monday evening.

“It was out-of-this-world to see it ... like someone just dropped it from the sky,” said Ms. Wilton.

“It looked like Happy Feet — it was totally in the wrong place,” she said, referring to the 2006 animated musical featuring a young penguin who finds himself far from home.

Conservation experts say the penguin is about 10 months old and stands about 80 cm high. Colin Miskelly, a curator at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, said the bird was likely born during the last Antarctic winter. It may have been searching for squid and krill when it took a wrong turn and landed about 3,200 km from the Antarctic coast.

Emperor penguins are the tallest and largest species of penguin and can grow up to 122 cm high and weigh more than 34 kg.

Mr. Miskelly said emperor penguins could spend months at a time in the ocean, coming ashore only to molt or rest. He did not know what might have caused this one to become disoriented. He said the penguin appeared healthy and well-fed, with plenty of body fat, and probably came ashore for a rest. However, Mr. Miskelly said the penguin would need to find its way back south soon if it were to survive. Officials plan to let nature take its course. — AP