Well, the six-year-old female runaway African penguin in Japan, of course. Did you doubt it?

Her name is Pen, and the folks at the Gekidan Penters traveling zoo on Japan’s Himakajima Island thought they had lost her when she escaped from her enclosure and swam out into open waters, where she had never gone before.

Her keeper, Ryosuke Imai, said that her escape had left him wracked with worry and guilt. An African penguin can usually swim up to 25 miles a day, but their muscle mass decreases when they’re kept in captivity as Pen had been. “The chances of her surviving in the wild were very low,” Imai said. [Nodoka Katsura and Lex Harvey, CNN, September 12, 2024.]

But then the region was hit by typhoon Shanshan, with high winds and torrential rain that killed at least six people, displaced millions, knocked out power, and disrupted air travel. But with no fishing boats able to operate in the area, Pen was free of obstacles; and the rainfall provided her with a source of hydration and cooling. She also managed to find food — likely fish or crab — along the way, as evidenced by her “substantial droppings” when she was found after two weeks . . . just eight miles from the beach where she first went missing, and ten minutes from her home facility. [Id.]

Way to go, Pen! The world needs happy endings like yours.

*. *. *

People tend to take up unusual causes — unusual for them, at least. Mine, for some reason I can’t explain, seems to be marine animals. First there was Laverna, the surfboard-stealing otter off the coast of Monterey, California.

Next came the sadder story of Hvaldimir, the Russian spy whale who defected to Norway five years ago, but met with an unfortunate accident at sea earlier this month.

And then it was Pen, who I am pleased to say is alive and well in her Japanese home, happily snuggled up with Mr. Imai, probably dreaming about her big adventure at sea.

There are worst causes, I should think.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/13/24