Sydney, Australia

An emperor penguin travelled thousands of miles from Antarctica and reached an Australian beach on Friday. People were shocked to see the penguin on Ocean Beach in Denmark, Western Australia, on Friday, Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) told CNN.

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The arduous journey has taken a toll on the penguin who the group says is "malnourished" and is under the care of a "trained and registered local wildlife carer".

A DBCA officer is supporting the carer, a spokesperson said, adding that the "rehabilitation process is expected to take a few weeks."

The swimming trip for the emperor penguin must have been quite taxing as Ocean Beach is more than 3,500 km north of Antarctica. 

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According to Belinda Cannell, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, an emperor penguin has never been seen so far north before. She told Australian public broadcaster ABC News that the animal likely followed a current north from Antarctica.

Cannell said that penguins "tend to follow certain currents where they’re going to find lots of different types of food."

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“So maybe those currents have just tended to be a little bit further north towards Australia than they normally would."

Also Read: Antarctica's 'doomsday glacier' might completely vanish by 23rd century

Emperor penguin shocked beachgoers

People on the beach at the time narrated what the scene looked like when the penguin emerged from the ocean. A surfer named Aaron Fowler told ABC that it looked "massive" coming out of the sea, and was "bigger than a sea bird".

He said the people were like, "What is that thing coming out of the water? And it kind of had a tail sticking out like a duck."

"He was probably about a meter high, and he was not shy at all."

Fowler recalled how the penguin fell flat in the sand as it tried to slide on its belly, probably assuming it to be snow. It got covered in sand and shook it off.

Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of all penguin species and are only found in the wild in Antarctica. They are over a metre tall and weigh up to 40 kgs. 

A female emperor penguin lays one egg every season and the male takes care of it while she goes out looking for food. They rely on sea ice for protection, breeding colonies and food. However, the increasing temperatures are threatening the penguins as sea ice melts.