Penguin refuses to leave man who saved its life
Digital Reporter
Monday, November 2, 2015, 6:11 PM - Four years ago, João Pereira de Souza of Brazil made a peculiar lifelong friend.
The 71-year-old retired bricklayer and widower found a Magellanic Penguin covered in oil near his home in 2011.
He cleaned it off and nursed it back to health. When the penguin was strong enough, de Souza brought the bird to the beach but it refused to leave his side.
He then took the penguin, now known as Jingjing, out in a boat. Once they were several kilometres from land he turned him loose only to return home and find Jingjing waiting for him.
Now, Jingjing will head out to sea for weeks or months at a time, but always returns to his home base.
“When he returns he’s so happy to see me,” de Souza tells the Wall Street Journal. “He comes up to my neck and hoots.”
Magellanic penguins usually migrate thousands of kilometres between breeding grounds. They are native to Patagonia, Argentina, some 3,200 km away from Brazil. Sometimes currents will bring the birds as far east as Brazil, but they rarely stick around.
De Souza and Jingjing can often be seen walking on the beach and the penguin has become something of a local celebrity.
Local fishermen say they've never seen anything like it. According to the Wall Street Journal, Jingjing will stay with De Souza for weeks at a time, only heading out to sea for short stints.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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