Some intriguing tracks have recently been found in the snow at the top of Parwich Hill. They were clearly made by some type of bird, but what could have made them? The tracks suggest a waddling gait, but all of our resident ornithologists were stumped. We therefore sent the photographs to Twycross Zoo, to see if they could help.
The response was instant, and very perplexing. “We recognised them immediately,” said a spokesman from the zoo, “as the marks are identical to those made by our Humboldt Penguins.”
“We have no idea how the penguin got to Parwich. It is certainly not one of ours, as we have counted them and they are all present and correct. As Humboldt penguins are known for burrowing, it is likely that yours has been living on the hill for a while, only making itself known after the recent heavy snowfall.”
“The Humboldt Penguin is a South American penguin, which breeds in coastal Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African Penguin, the Magellanic Penguin and the Galápagos Penguin. Have any of your residents visited any of these locations recently and perhaps smuggled one back?”
“They are certainly very resourceful birds. Last year, a Humboldt penguin escaped from Tokyo Sea Life Park by scaling the 13 feet high wall and through the fence into Tokyo bay. It then thrived in Tokyo Bay for 82 days before being recaptured.”
Whether our penguin has escaped or been stolen, we will never know. Climate change has been dramatic lately, but perhaps never this dramatic.
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