AILSA CHANG, HOST:
OK, finally, today, an update on Gus - that's right. Gus is an emperor penguin who is finally - hopefully - headed back to Antarctica. Earlier this month, Gus washed up over 2,000 miles away from home, in Western Australia.
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AARON FOWLER: This big bird in the water was kind of, like, coming out of the waves. And my mate was like, oh, that's a penguin.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Aaron Fowler told WQAD News he was on the beach with a friend when they saw the castaway penguin shuffle onto the sand.
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FOWLER: He just waddled over to us and, like, came right up to us. Like, I think he might have thought we were penguins or something 'cause we had wetsuits on.
KELLY: It's the farthest north the species has ever been recorded.
CHANG: Gus was found malnourished and underweight but was taken in by a local wildlife rehabilitator. He gained back about seven pounds in her care. And after 20 days in rehab, a Parks and Wildlife Service boat released him back into the ocean off the southern coast of Australia.
KELLY: And now we are all crossing our fingers that Gus the emperor penguin does not take any more wrong turns on his odyssey back to his Antarctic throne.
(SOUNDBITE OF OWL CITY SONG, "FIREFLIES") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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