Source

  This blue penguin was rescued from being entangled by plastic netting. He was then turned over to the Kaikoura Wildlife Hospital in Kaikoura, New Zealand, where he was treated for a head wound and severe exhaustion. When he finally recovered, they helped release him back into the ocean. It seems like the blue penguin developed a connection with his caretakers. 

He walked a few feet away before turning back to the person who took care of him. He then looked back at the ocean and took a few more steps toward it. 

But before he could reach the waves, he took another look back at his caretaker. He knew this was goodbye. He was never going to see her again. But when he felt the ocean water touch his feet, he remembered it was where he belonged. 

And he ran into the ocean. The waves may seem to stop him but he didn’t care. He pushed himself past the waves and swam to his home. And besides, blue penguins are used to the rough waves of the New Zealand coastline. Fairy penguins Blue penguins are also called little penguins or fairy penguins. 

They are the smallest of the penguin species. Their beaks are black and their eye color varies from silver to blue, grey, or hazel. The undersides of the flippers, torso, chin, and throat are white but can become gray or brown. And the top of its head, neck, and torso, as well as the outer parts of its flippers, have an indigo-blue color. They’re their own kind of bird. 

Blue penguins are both diurnal and nocturnal. They are extremely noisy and have their own individual call. 

Their species is verging on becoming endangered because of natural predators and industrial fishing. They’re also the ones who suffer the most from oil spills. It’s a good thing this little blue penguin was rescued at that time. He probably had a family who depended on him to feed them. 

They’re not migratory birds and they tend to stay close to their colony. So when one is missing, the colony is most likely in an uproar. 

This blue penguin was so blessed. It was lucky to have been turned over to the care of Kaikoura Wildlife Rescue. Founded by Wildlife Biologist Sabrina Luecht in 2017, Kaikoura Wildlife Rescue has helped rehabilitate thousands of birds, especially seabirds like blue penguins, yellow-eyed penguins, shags, gulls, petrels, and shearwaters. 

She said that the hardest part about wildlife rehabilitation is the injuries and deaths the animals and the caretakers have to deal with. “Many patients arrive in rehab due to human-induced injuries, rather than natural injuries,” Sabrina said. 

“You do your very best for every patient, but some cannot be saved despite treatment and countless hours, which is always saddening. The best aspects of wildlife rehabilitation are saving native birds… Releasing birds back into the wild makes it all worthwhile.” 

 See this little blue penguin say goodbye to his rescuer in the video below!

 
Source

  This time, it’s in the style of creatures that aren’t the color that they ought to be by nature. In particular, a nature guide had the good fortune to discover and photograph a rare yellow-colored penguin in the wild. 

Meet Yves Adams, a Belgian photo tour guide, wildlife photographer, and expedition leader who embarked on a two-month photo trip in the South Atlantic in 2019. 

The team had to stop on an island in South Georgia to take pictures of a king penguin colony that included more than 120,000 penguins! Adams saw something unusual when offloading supplies and food at the Salisbury Plain: among the sea of tuxedos, he saw a penguin that wasn’t black and white but rather a vibrant yellow (and white).

Adams told in an interview, “I’d never seen or heard of a yellow penguin before.” There were 120,000 birds on that seashore, but only this one was yellow. Although research on leucism in penguins dates back to 2000, it is crucial to note that this is not the first time a yellow penguin has been seen in history. 

Nevertheless, it appears that these photographs are the first of their sort to have been posted online, much alone with such clarity. Not only were they fortunate to have come upon the bird in the first place, but it was also close enough to the party of photo explorers—about 50 meters (150 feet) away—to be captured in all of its yellow-coated splendor. 

There were no seals, other animals in the way, or other penguins in the way. It turns out that the reason why this yellow specimen is special is that it has a condition called leucism, in which the animal loses some of its pigmentations and changes color as a result. 

Unlike albinism, this condition doesn’t affect the eyes and causes the animal to become white, pale, or patchy on its skin, hair, feathers, or scales. It is yet unclear how this issue may affect survival. But it is reasonable to assume that, like with many unusual occurrences among species, it may ultimately have some form of impact on things like finding a mate or being easier or harder to identify by predators, of which they have a large number. 

A number of online news publications covered the story and thousands of people liked Adams’ photos on various social media sites due to the captivating nature of his images. 

It also made it onto websites like Reddit and Imgur, where it received over 100,000 upvotes and 60,000 views, respectively. 

  “It was heaven that he landed by us. If it had been 50 meters away we wouldn’t have been able to get this show of a lifetime.” 

 Image Credit & More Info; Yves Adams/Instagram | yvesadams.com

  The flea-covered dog was taken to the vet where he was diagnosed with demodectic mange and needed lots of medicated baths. 

It would be a process, but this puppy was full of love and strength! Fram the “little polar bear” would be in great hands until eventually finding that loving forever home.

 
Source