The male emperor penguin who was found wandering on a beach in Western Australia earlier this month was deported to the waters an unknown distance toward his native Antarctica last week after 20 days in the care of local veterinarians who fed him fish and seafood slurry to regain his strength in the hopes that he would be able to swim back on his own, ABC Australia reports.
“The bird had put on a reasonable amount of weight,” said seabird carer Carol Biddulph, who nicknamed the penguin “Gus” after Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. “The plumage was wonderful, well waterproofed, we had got the salt gland pumping. Sea birds have a salt gland so they can process the salt water,” Biddulph continued, adding she was on the boat that dumped Gus back into the icy waters of the Southern Ocean. “I’ve got every faith he will get home. I mean, he got here.”