Early Sunday morning, the Salzburg Zoo employees were quite challenged: a feathered protégé had gone out exploring.
Director Sabine Grebner: “At 6.20 am we were informed that a penguin had been sighted in a corn field in the municipality of Anif.” Shortly before 7 a.m., a “handful of employees” went in search of the flightless bird. “After all the African penguins had been in the facility the night before, we hadn’t noticed the loss.”
Drone with thermal imager used
But the search was not easy – even the drone used with a thermal imager was unsuccessful. “The area covered three adjacent fields of corn plants that were as high as dense,” Grebner says. The search group was eventually expanded to form a human chain and accurately comb out the cornfields.
After a three-hour search, the young African penguin was finally captured. The missing young bird did not hatch until April 19, 2022 and had only recently left the breeding cavity.
“We can’t explain it at all”
How the still nameless penguin ended up in the cornfield some 800 meters away at night is a great mystery. “We can’t explain it at all. There are several fences and other obstacles between the penguin enclosure and where it was found, and penguins are known to be better swimmers than pedestrians,” says district manager Andreas Gfrerer.
“Even the cameras installed after the disappearance of the penguin lady ‘Lesedi’ last October have captured nothing,” adds Sabine Grebner. In any case, they will look for clues and think about further measures.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
