ITWire

A couple of months ago, a VERY wayward Emperor Penguin washed up on Peka Peka beach (about 60km north of Wellington in New Zealand).  Wayward we say, because Emperor Penguins almost never stray out of the close confines of Antarctica (that's around 3000km south of where he was found).  And judging by his level of maturity, he was definitely the equivalent of an obnoxious teenager.

Feeling somewhat overheated in the 5 - 10 degree weather, he sought what seemed closest to his preferred cooling method (ice) and proceeded to devour as much sand as he could stomach.

It seems he ate rather more than his stomach could handle and when he was found, was rather ill.

Taken into Wellington Zoo, our hapless penguin was (slowly) purged of all his unwanted sand and gradually nursed back to good health.

Now, many weeks later (and after an amazing diet of gourmet fish) our intrepid penguin was bundled onto a fisheries research vessel and transported close to Campbell Island - about 600km SSW of South Island.  Here, a specially constructed water slide eased (with a significant prod) our southern warrior back into the oceans of his ancestry.

Brrrr'¦ it's cold in here.