A little blue penguin was standing on the beach one day, waiting for his mama. The tiny two-month-old penguin lives in New Zealand and was spotted wandering around on a beach in Christchurch. The poor thing was so tiny, and he needed someone to look out for him.
Thankfully, some kind humans stepped up to help.
Jeff Mein Smith said he noticed Billy standing in the sand while he was riding his bike by a stretch of the coast.
It wasn’t long before a crowd had formed to observe the little blue penguin. Smith went home to grab his camera.
When he returned, he found that someone had left a sign advising people how to appropriately act around the penguin.
“Apparently some people let their dogs chase it initially,” Smith told Stuff.co.nz.
The sign basically asked people to leave him the heck alone:
“Hi,
I’m waiting for my mum to come back. D.O.C. [New Zealand Department of Conservation] knows I’m here. Please leave me alone.
*Keep your dog away.
Thanks,
Billy the baby blue penguin <3”
Ironically enough, Billy ended up hanging around the sign. Maybe he knew it would keep him safe.
Billy was picked up by the D.O.C. later that day after it was determined that he was old enough to be out on his own. And it’s a good thing too, he was found to be drastically underweight. But he’s in good hands now.
“It’s unusual for a blue penguin to be out in the open on the beach during the day. Normally they are at sea or in burrows during the day,” D.O.C. senior ranger Anita Spencer said. “[Billy] will be taken to the Christchurch penguin rehabilitation center, where it will be assessed and cared for.”
Spencer said she was pleased to see that people were looking out for the local wildlife. Especially blue penguins.
Blue penguins, also known as kororā, are considered to be an at-risk species. They are native to New Zealand and are the world’s smallest penguins.
They grow to be more only 25 centimeters or 9.8 inches long and weigh about 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds
Blue penguins are rarely seen on land and if they are they usually only come on shore when its dark out. They do come ashore to molt in November and March for about two weeks when they are especially vulnerable because they can’t swim.
It is expected that Billy will grow stronger at the penguin sanctuary and eventually be released back into the wild.
We’re so glad Billy was safe as he waited on the beach and that so many people stepped up to help him out. What a wonderful happy ending.
Check out a video about Billy below!
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