Police p-p-p-pick up a runaway penguin – video
Local residents believe 'Pingui' may have fallen off a passing vehicle before he was caught on camera
A runaway penguin has been picked up by police after being found wandering lost and confused in the streets of Nuevo Chimbote in northern Peru.
The International Business Times reports that "it is unclear how the penguin ended up in the middle of the street but local media speculates it might have fallen off a passing vehicle".
One witness said: "We saw it walking in the lights of the cars. It was in the street. We did not see where he came from."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Footage taken by one member of the public shows the penguin in distress as residents attempt to scoop him up.
Local police eventually got hold of the bird and, despite a few pecks in protest, were able to take him to the station and feed him to calm him down.
During the experience, the penguin narrowly avoided being bitten by a dog and run over by a taxi, according to Sky News.
Local media report that the bird, dubbed "Pingui" by residents, will be taken to the penguin habitat Vivero Forestal de Chimbote to recover.
Pingui is not the first penguin to go Awol. A humboldt penguin went missing from Tokyo Sea Life Park in 2012 and was recaptured 82 days later on a riverbank about 8km from its home. Keepers believe the bird – known only as Penguin Number 337 – had made a break for freedom by scrambling over a rock twice its size.
In another case, two Welsh tourists were fined after drunkenly breaking into Sea World on Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia, swimming with dolphins and then stealing a seven-year-old fairy penguin called Dirk. After waking up to find him in their apartment the following day, they released him into a canal and he was later rescued and reunited with his partner Peaches in Sea World.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?
The Explainer The future is flooded
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
American Airlines pilots are warning of a 'significant spike' in safety issues
In the Spotlight The pilot's union listed 'problematic trends' they say are affecting the airline's fleet
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
6 star-spangled presidential libraries to visit
The Week Recommends These institutions provide insight into American leaders
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Peruvian 'aliens' aren't really aliens
Tall Tales And other stories from stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published