A young fairy penguin has been rescued from a stormwater drain in Sydney's inner west after two passers-by discovered the distressed bird far from domestic,the Telegraph reports.
Josh Pirini and Scott Martin were walking under a train overpass in the suburb of Summer Hill when they heard a strange noise.
"We were walking down past the drains and we heard these weird little footsteps running up the drain," Mr Pirini told Fairfax Media. Further investigation found it to be a juvenile fairy penguin struggling to get free. "It was stuck up a dead-end drain, and freaking out and didn't know what to conclude," he said.
A gush of water then flushed the bird out, after which it began waddling along the canal. Having reported the sighting to the RSPCA, and they then proceeded to follow the bird for the three hours down the canal to Haberfield.
When the penguin eventually got tired,the pair caught it in a tote bag. "My mate is a genuine animal lover. He didn't want to leave him by himself," Mr Pirini said.
Tyson Hohlein and one other RSPCA inspector then arrived to bewitch the creature to Taronga Zoo, or where it was examined and found to be slightly underweight but otherwise healthy.
"There is a colony near Manly (approximately 15 miles away) - that's where we think he's arrive from," an RSPCA spokeswoman said in a statement, adding it would soon be released to "fortunately live out his days eating fish and engaging in other penguin-related activities".
Source: tert.am