World's loneliest bird is spotted waddling along a road in the Falklands

These amusing pictures appear to capture the moment a lost King Penguin tries to hitchhike back home. The lonesome bird was spotted trying to hitch a ride to the nearby penguin settlement in Teal Inlet, East Falklands, after it became separated from its colony.

The pictures were taken by Paul Chapman, 56, who was heading to a popular fishing area with his wife, Julie. When they first saw the bird he was in four feet of water.

On the couple's way home, they noticed that the penguin had made it to the road and was waddling to the nearest town. Mr Chapman said: 'It quite impressive the penguin managed to get there. It would have had to get through four feet of water and climb through a fence to reach the road. 'When we saw the penguin it wasn't bothered or scared by us and just carried on walking.'

King Penguins - known as Aptenodytes patagonicus in Latin - are the second largest species of penguin, the Emperor Penguinare. They grow as tall as three feet and weigh up to 2.5 stone. They are distinguishable by their orange-tinted breasts, cheeks and beaks. In the wild they live off small fish, mainly lanternfish, and squid, and are mainly found in the South Atlantic and the northernmost waters of northern Antarctica.

There are believed to be around 2.23million King Penguins and their numbers are increasing.


Source: Daily Mail
Tue 15 Mar 2016 at 07:25