Lost penguin puzzles locals

Not long after nightfall on Friday, September 8, along a stretch of bush-lined road in Thirroul, a mystery began. A mystery involving some kind humans, Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue and a very, very lost penguin. It’s a mystery that unfortunately does not have a happy ending or any real answers, only some theories as to how this flightless bird found its way onto this suburban road.

Can you help us solve it?

Sea Foam Avenue is a fairly quiet road, not quite a kilometre from the ocean. It’s bordered by houses on one side, the train line and bush on the other. After rain, Flanagans Creek thunders alongside it and during dry spells, like now, the creek is low and slow, silent as it makes its way to the ocean.

About 7:45 Friday evening, Tom Duncan was out delivering pizzas along this stretch, when he saw something waddling up the road, lit up only by the occasional street light. It’s not uncommon to see all manner of wildlife in this area but this was strange enough that Tom snapped a photo and sent it to his girlfriend, Eden, who showed it to her mum, Donna Rout.

“It really did look like a penguin,” Donna said. “We jumped in the car and headed to Thirroul. As we descended the lower part of Sea Foam Avenue, the car headlights picked out the shape of a Little Penguin, slowly making its way up the darkened street.”

“We were gobsmacked,” Donna said. “It was so far from the ocean. And how do you handle a penguin? Do they bite? Neither of us wanted to find out the hard way… so we shepherded it into a milk crate, which it was none too impressed by.”

Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue (ASTR) were contacted and Donna and Eden dropped the bird off to an avian vet. Unfortunately, the bird was in an extremely poor condition and did not survive.

Little Penguins nest in the Five Islands Nature Reserve near Port Kembla and are occasionally spotted swimming in Wollongong Harbour and off local beaches. It is possible that this penguin had come ashore in Thirroul and made its way up the creek, emerging out of the bush and onto Sea Foam Avenue.

Another theory is that it was dropped by a bird of prey, such as a white-bellied sea eagle. It would not be the first time a penguin has fallen from the sky locally. ASTR noted in a Facebook post that the penguin did not appear to have any puncture wounds or external injuries, making this theory a lot less likely.

Of course, human involvement, aka ‘penguin-napping’, can’t be ruled out but I prefer to focus on the kind humans, the Donnas and Edens and Toms of this world, who went out of their way to help this little penguin in need.

Do you know anything? We’d love to hear your theories. Contact us here or join in the conversation on Facebook.