While on a bike ride late last month, Jeff Mein Smith, a local, spotted a little baby blue penguin on a stretch of beach on New Zealand’s south island. She was just there, all alone.
But it was not just him who noticed the baby penguin, so had the other passersby. There were also some locals who were walking their dogs down the beach.
Smith rushed home to grab his camera and came back as quickly as possible, only to notice that some area residents circled the penguin to protect it from others, just like the dogs that were dangerously getting a little too close.
The residents then wrote a sign next to the penguin, so others won’t get confused as to what was happening.
“Hi, I’m waiting for my mum to come back. DOC (Department of Conservation) knows I’m here. Please leave me alone. *Keep your dog away. Thanks, Billy the baby blue penguin,” the sign reads.
However, the people noticed something was not right.
As it turns out, the penguin was actually a girl. Though she is young, she is not so young as to depen on her mother, but also not too old to go out on her own.
“Billy, the baby blue penguin” was also an endangered species that is native to New Zealand and has been sent to the Christchurch Penguin Rehabilitation organization.
The experts estimated that she was about two months old and was underweight. So, they gave her fluids and fish smoothies to get her back in a healthy shape.
According to local reports, once she fattens up and gains enough strength, she will then be released back into the ocean.
