Fiordland Penguin

Bill & Els write: On Thursday, as we were about to head off to catch the ferry at Darlington, Maria Island, two of our party said they had just seen a penguin sitting on the edge of the sea about a kilometre down the coast. Thinking "oh yeah, it's got to be a Little Penguin", I asked about the size of the bird. To my surprise, I was told it was at least knee high if not taller. The next question as to whether it had any other markings, was answered with " yes, there were bright yellow stripes on each side of its' head". This triggered an immediate response, with us throwing our rucksacks to the ground and running as fast as we could in the direction indicated. Sure enough, right on the waters edge stood a Fiordland Penguin. Unfortunately the bird had been injured, having a tear of skin exposing the left shoulder joint. From what I could make out at the distance, the joint and its tendons appeared intact, so that there's every chance that the bird may survive. The rangers were notified, and were seen to be present around the bird as we left, heading back to Triabunna after a great few days walking on the island.