A little penguin with a taste for mess and adventure has been released back into the wild on King Island after weeks of rehabilitation in northern Tasmania.
Royal, as the penguin was named by his carers, arrived at Penguin Rehab and Release covered in oily grime.
The team cleaned his feathers and nursed him back to health – but keeping him clean proved to be its own challenge.
“He immediately proceeded to turn himself orange,” the group said.
Royal had found a patch of rust behind a mirror in his enclosure and made it his favourite lounging spot.
He also had a habit of lying in his own droppings.
“Turns out Royal isn’t quite so regal after all,” the group said.
Despite his antics, Royal responded well to treatment. His feathers were restored to full waterproofing condition through about two weeks of consistent preening and he built strength and confidence swimming alongside other fledglings.
When the time came to return him to King Island, the team arranged a Sharp flight from Burnie Airport – dubbed the “Royal Flying Penguin Service.”
The organisation acknowledged the journey would be too stressful for most penguins and could even prove fatal. But Royal had the right temperament.
“Whenever we lifted the cover of his transport crate to check on him, he craned his neck up to look around and see what was happening,” the group said.
Royal boarded the plane before the other passengers and was flown back across Bass Strait to his island home.
“The next morning we received the wonderful news that Royal had arrived safely and had been successfully released,” the organisation said.
Penguin Rehab and Release said it does not plan to regularly take on cases from as far away as King Island but was grateful to have been part of Royal’s story.
