A mirror helps a lonely penguin

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We used to live in Esperance on Western Australia’s south coast. The French word Esperance means 'hope'. A few days ago, a king penguin was seen on nearby Quagi Beach, more than 4,000 kms from its normal habitat. King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are the second-largest of the species and live in ice-free parts of the sub-Antarctic region, which includes McDonald, Macquarie and Heard Islands. In 2025, bird flu was detected on Heard Island. Thankfully all swabs taken from Hope returned negative. Hope was underweight when she was taken in. It’s believed Hope came ashore to moult. Penguins undergo a ‘catastrophic moult’ and need to be on land when this occurs. Before the moult, penguins eat as much as possible to put on weight. It then has to hang around on dry land for a month till the moulting process is complete. Hope is now eating a kilogram of fish a day. She will be released when she has finished her moult. Meanwhile, a mirror has been placed in Hope’s enclosure so she won’t feel so lonely. Wikimedia photo courtesy: Grendelkhan