Emperor Penguin landed at Peka Peka beach – NZ

22nd June 2011

Lost, side tracked, careless, forgetful or endangered -  whatever words you might like to attach to the Emperor penguin that ended up all the way from Antarctica to Peka Pekka beach on Kapiti Coast of New Zealand yesterday.

Every year penguins make their way north from the colder waters in search of food. According to some experts this particular Emperor penguin must have taken a wrong turn and then continued its journey from Antarctica to New Zealand. Some other experts are linking this rare event to climate change. It's the first such sighting in New Zealand since 1967. The distance this penguin has travelled is just amazing.

ZSL Penguinologist (Tom Hart) and one of the ZSL London Zoo Penguin Keepers travelled with Exodus to the Antarctic Peninsula on two back-to-back sailings of the Antarctic Explorer trip to collect essential information on the direction and rate of migration between penguin colonies.

"We need to know how penguins are responding to climate change, in order to organise our conservation efforts. If we understand how their populations are changing, we can do something about it, such as making sure that our protected areas are in the right place for penguins in 100 years time." Tom hart ZSL Penguinologist

Exodus is delighted to be the Official Wildlife Travel Partner of ZSL London Zoo’s brand new Penguin Beach exhibit and to help facilitate ZSL’s penguin population mapping related research.