A jailbird, in this case, a juvenile Humboldt penguin that escaped from the Tokyo Sea Life Park and was last seen swimming in the mouth of the Old Edogawa River which runs into Tokyo Bay. Zoo keepers don’t know how the 24 inch, flightless bird managed to escape the enclosure it shared with 134 other Humboldt penguins; the exhibit is surrounded by a sheer, 4 foot rock wall and a 6 foot fence.
Zoo officials have been scouring the area where the Tokyo penguin was last spotted in the hope of recapturing it. “We first noticed the penguin might have fled when the director of a neighboring zoo e-mailed us Sunday, with a photo,” said [a park official]. A second picture provided by a visitor allowed keepers to identify the errant bird as one that hatched last January “It’s a bit of a struggle to catch it when it is swimming, because it swims at a tremendous speed,” [the official] said. “We are hoping to catch it when it climbs up on land to sleep” (source).
“The Tokyo Sea Life Park put up posters inside the park and posted a notice on its Web site seeking tips from the public. ‘In the event that you see a penguin on the loose, please let us know and don’t run after it or try to catch it,’ the park said in the announcement. In the meantime, onlookers said the escaped penguin appeared to be having a grand time swimming his way around Tokyo” (source).
“The Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) (also termed Peruvian penguin or Patranca) is a South American penguin that breeds in coastal Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African Penguin, the Magellanic Penguin, and the Galápagos Penguin. The penguin is named after the cold water current it swims in, which is itself named after Alexander von Humboldt, an explorer…
The current status of this penguin is threatened, due to a declining population caused in part by over-fishing, climate change, and ocean acidification. Historically, it was the victim of guano over-exploitation. Penguins are also declining in numbers due to habitat destruction. The current population is estimated at between 3,300 and 12,000. In August 2010, the Humboldt penguin of Chile and Peru was granted protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act” (source).
