Penguin Rehab & Release

Penguin Rehab & Release Rehabilitating penguins and other seabirds that come into care due to injury, illness or misadventure Heartfelt thanks to all!

Penguin Rehab & Release is dedicated to
rehabilitating penguins (and other seabirds) for
successful release back into the wild. Located in Burnie, we are the only facility in
North-West Tasmania available to cover all
aspects of rehabilitation (including swimming
therapy) and provide specialised care ranging
from just a few days to long-term periods (our
longest term resident to date was in care f

or just
over 13 months). Adhering to up-to-date guidelines for best
practice in the rehabilitation of sea-birds, we
work closely with a variety of experts in the field
of seabirds and their care, and liaise with regional
vets, Bonorong Wildlife Hospital, Parks and
Wildlife Service and Marine Conservation. Penguins, and most other seabirds, are protected
species, and all birds come into care under the
appropriate permits from Wildlife Management
Branch, DPIPWE. Penguin Rehab & Release is a Landcare Tasmania
community group comprised of dedicated
volunteers working with local
Landcare/Coastcare and Friends of Penguins
groups whose aim is to protect Little Penguins
and their habitat. Established through grants from local Councils
and the generosity and support of local
businesses, community organisations and
individuals, Penguin Rehab & Release is run
entirely by volunteers and community networks
throughout North-West Tasmania. Grown beyond expectations due to the high
demand, our operating costs are covered by
donations from individuals and businesses, near
and far. During our first 15 months of operation we
successfully rehabilitated 36 Little Penguins, plus
a variety of other seabirds and shorebirds. The
average cost per bird in care is just over $100 per
week, and the average time in care per bird is
just over a month. To donate through Landcare Tasmania (tax deductible), or through direct deposit follow this link https://www.penguinrehab.org/

Or, to donate via PayPal click here https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=GHVW7V2RTQNR8

Sapphire has been releasedThe morning after Onyx was released, we held our breaths, but to our surprise Sapphire seemed ...
07/06/2026

Sapphire has been released

The morning after Onyx was released, we held our breaths, but to our surprise Sapphire seemed fine.

We were very concerned about how Sapphire would cope once Onyx was gone. The two had formed an exceptionally strong bond and were almost always together. After the de-waterproofing debacle had shaken Sapphire's confidence, she had come to rely on Onyx even more.

We were hoping to be able to keep Sapphire in care just a little longer so she could put on some extra weight before release. While her weight was healthy, she had very little in reserve. Outside of pre-moult, Sapphire was notoriously resistant to gaining weight beyond what she clearly considered her ideal body condition. She would refuse any increase in her feeds and, if we persisted, often regurgitate them.

Unfortunately, deliberately regurgitating feeds was also one of Sapphire's preferred methods of expressing her displeasure and a response to distress. So, we knew that Sapphire might respond to Onyx’s absence in this way.

But Sapphire took the first feed after Onyx was released without drama, and we were both surprised and relieved.

Sapphire spent her time with Rose that day. Rose and Sapphire could definitely be considered friends; they didn’t have the depth of bond that Sapphire and Onyx had. Rose couldn't provide the comfort Sapphire was looking for, and as the day wore on Sapphire became increasingly distressed.

Because Onyx's release had taken place in the evening, the usual pre-release routine had been very different. The choice to release Onyx in the evening rather than pre-dawn was made both for logistical reasons and to give her the opportunity to choose her own path—whether that meant returning ashore to reclaim a burrow if she was local or heading straight out to sea towards her colony. The pre-release routine was also much shorter than normal after Onyx's attempted stowaway mission forced us to bring her departure forward.

Onyx had been temporarily removed from the enclosure a couple of times before for vet visits and medical treatment, so we suspect Sapphire initially assumed this was another temporary absence.
When Onyx failed to return within the usual timeframe, she must have realised that her best friend had been released without her.

She responded as we knew she might – by regurgitating the evening feed. She then regurgitated the feed the next morning as well. Instead of building the energy reserves we had hoped for, she was now at risk of losing weight.

She also became frantic and throwing a tantrum when fed, screaming, flailing with her flippers, and biting. While Sapphire had always let us know when she was displeased, she had never behaved quite like this before. She was suddenly acting more like Crimson than Sapphire.

Once again, a penguin made the decision for us.

We suddenly found ourselves organising another release at very short notice.

Like Onyx, Sapphire was going to be released in the evening. But we knew she needed to know as soon as possible. At her morning feed, Sapphire was fed—very much against her wishes and despite her best efforts to spit every fish back out—and before she had the opportunity to regurgitate the meal, she was placed directly into a transport box.

The change was immediate. The brewing tantrum vanished. Her bellyful of fish remained unregurgitated.

Sapphire settled quietly into her transport box and waited calmly for the rest of the day, seemingly content in the knowledge that she was finally getting what she had been demanding.

Finally, it was time to start the long drive to Stanley. Sapphire was excited when the journey began, but grew noticeably quieter in her transport box as we turned away from the ocean and headed west.

When we arrived in Stanley, there was none of the excited recognition we would expect from an adult penguin returning home. Instead, every feather seemed to radiate apprehension and uncertainty.

It quickly became apparent that while Stanley was where Sapphire had been found, it was not where she considered home.

As with Onyx, we were releasing Sapphire in the only location available to us, knowing that once she reached the ocean she would be able to make her own way home. For Sapphire, however, this likely meant returning to the place where the worst experience of her life had occurred. Whatever had caused her original injury and severe feather loss had been traumatic.

As we arrived at the release site, Sapphire’s low, hunkered posture in the transport box made it obvious that she was uncomfortable being back there.

Then, as the transport box was carried across the beach, she saw the ocean.

The transformation was instant.

The moment Sapphire caught sight of the water, every trace of uncertainty disappeared. If she could have flown into the sea, she would have.

She had waited months for this moment.

After injury, feather loss, failed waterproofing, and so many months in care, Sapphire was finally fit, healthy, waterproof, and back where she belonged.
In the ocean.

Thankyou to everyone who helped us get Sapphire back in the ocean. Thankyou to her adopters: Rebecca, Georgia, Salt of the Earth, Teresa, Jenny and Marianne.

30/05/2026

We are so relieved and excited to finally announce the release of Onyx.

Getting a penguin release-ready takes a lot more than simply healing an injury. Every penguin has to prove their fitness and readiness through long sessions in the pool, demonstrating appropriate agility, predator awareness, and reaching a healthy weight that gives them enough stored energy to support themselves while they settle back into life in the wild and get back into the swing of catching fish for themselves.

The pre-release routine is always much the same, and our long-term rehabilitation penguins often seem to recognise the process. After watching so many of their penguin friends go through the same routine and then disappear from the enclosure for release, they appear to understand exactly what is happening. We don’t know how they know, but when you work as closely with penguins as we do, you quickly realise just how intelligent and aware they truly are.

During her time in care, Onyx had watched many penguins reach release before her. She knew the drill.

The night before each release, we separate the penguins scheduled for release into one of the aviaries so we can easily identify the correct birds in the dark the next morning for their pre-dawn trip to the beach. Onyx had watched several fledglings get closer and closer to being release-ready, and she noticed when the removable gate was placed beside the aviary ready to be put across the doorway to isolate the penguins being released. She knew what would happen next.

At feeding time that evening, Onyx was nowhere to be found.
We checked all of her usual spots, then every burrow and hiding place. The search became increasingly frantic until eventually she was found tucked quietly at the very back of a burrow… inside the release aviary.

Onyx had apparently decided to take matters into her own flippers and had snuck herself into the aviary hours beforehand. We know she had been hiding there since before the sand was raked because there were no penguin footprints crossing the freshly smoothed sand.

It was a very polite — and very clear — statement from Onyx that she believed she was ready for release.

Onyx was absolutely disgruntled when she was removed from the aviary and not released alongside the fledglings the next morning — but thankfully she did not have to wait long.

Adult penguins must be released either at their colony or where they were originally found, so they can navigate their way home. Onyx had been rescued from the train tracks outside Penguin, along an extremely steep and difficult section of coastline. As we had already visited the site she was rescued from, found a suitable stretch of beach to release her, and identified the safest nearby access point for our volunteers, we were able to begin arranging her release straight away.

We suspected all along that where she was found was probably not actually her home colony. Her personality suggested she was accustomed to being surrounded by other penguins and living among a busy colony, while the area she was rescued from is home to only a small number of birds. We think it is likely that the entanglement around her foot forced her ashore before she could make her way home.

After seeing the terrain where she was rescued, we can honestly say Onyx was incredibly lucky to have been spotted at all. She is also, as we already knew, astonishingly determined to have managed climbing that cliff while entangled.

As we transported Onyx back to Penguin for release, she sat quietly and calmly in her transport box until suddenly, as we drove past Sulphur Creek, she let out a loud shriek of excitement.

We would not be surprised if that colony was home. Unfortunately, we won't ever be able to know for certain, but we wish we could.
One of the reasons we are attending the International Penguin Conference later this year is to connect with researchers and explore opportunities to track our released penguins and learn where they go after rehabilitation.

Penguins experience the world very differently to us — they can sense the Earth’s magnetic field, allowing them to navigate in ways we still don’t fully understand. Even inside a transport box in a car, Onyx would be able to sense when she was near home.

Although the exact release site was probably not her colony, it is most likely close enough that she would have had no trouble making her way back. If Sulphur Creek was indeed where she belonged, it is only a short distance away as the penguin swims.
When Onyx was carried down to the beach and released into the ocean she was calm and composed, but as she swam out, scanning the rocky outcrops and finding her way through them it didn't seem that she was very familiar with her surroundings. She found her way through the rocks and into the open water where she very quickly disappeared.

Onyx is a truly remarkable penguin, and we feel incredibly privileged to have known her so closely during her rehabilitation. But more than anything, we are thrilled to say goodbye to her and watch her disappear back into the ocean where she belongs.

Thank you to everyone who helped support Onyx through her rehabilitation - especially those who adopted her. Thank you to Ruth, Lesley, Drift & Tumble, Ted, Mia, Jenny, and Cheryl.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/197dMexwfF/

30/05/2026

We are so relieved and excited to finally announce the release of Onyx.

Getting a penguin release-ready takes a lot more than simply healing an injury. Every penguin has to prove their fitness and readiness through long sessions in the pool, demonstrating appropriate agility, predator awareness, and reaching a healthy weight that gives them enough stored energy to support themselves while they settle back into life in the wild and get back into the swing of catching fish for themselves.

The pre-release routine is always much the same, and our long-term rehabilitation penguins often seem to recognise the process. After watching so many of their penguin friends go through the same routine and then disappear from the enclosure for release, they appear to understand exactly what is happening. We don’t know how they know, but when you work as closely with penguins as we do, you quickly realise just how intelligent and aware they truly are.

During her time in care, Onyx had watched many penguins reach release before her. She knew the drill.

The night before each release, we separate the penguins scheduled for release into one of the aviaries so we can easily identify the correct birds in the dark the next morning for their pre-dawn trip to the beach. Onyx had watched several fledglings get closer and closer to being release-ready, and she noticed when the removable gate was placed beside the aviary ready to be put across the doorway to isolate the penguins being released. She knew what would happen next.

At feeding time that evening, Onyx was nowhere to be found.

We checked all of her usual spots, then every burrow and hiding place. The search became increasingly frantic until eventually she was found tucked quietly at the very back of a burrow… inside the release aviary.

Onyx had apparently decided to take matters into her own flippers and had snuck herself into the aviary hours beforehand. We know she had been hiding there since before the sand was raked because there were no penguin footprints crossing the freshly smoothed sand.

It was a very polite — and very clear — statement from Onyx that she believed she was ready for release.

Onyx was absolutely disgruntled when she was removed from the aviary and not released alongside the fledglings the next morning — but thankfully she did not have to wait long.

Adult penguins must be released either at their colony or where they were originally found, so they can navigate their way home. Onyx had been rescued from the train tracks outside Penguin, along an extremely steep and difficult section of coastline. As we had already visited the site she was rescued from, found a suitable stretch of beach to release her, and identified the safest nearby access point for our volunteers, we were able to begin arranging her release straight away.

We suspected all along that where she was found was probably not actually her home colony. Her personality suggested she was accustomed to being surrounded by other penguins and living among a busy colony, while the area she was rescued from is home to only a small number of birds. We think it is likely that the entanglement around her foot forced her ashore before she could make her way home.

After seeing the terrain where she was rescued, we can honestly say Onyx was incredibly lucky to have been spotted at all. She is also, as we already knew, astonishingly determined to have managed climbing that cliff while entangled.

As we transported Onyx back to Penguin for release, she sat quietly and calmly in her transport box until suddenly, as we drove past Sulphur Creek, she let out a loud shriek of excitement.

We would not be surprised if that colony was home. Unfortunately, we won't ever be able to know for certain, but we wish we could.

One of the reasons we are attending the International Penguin Conference later this year is to connect with researchers and explore opportunities to track our released penguins and learn where they go after rehabilitation.

Penguins experience the world very differently to us — they can sense the Earth’s magnetic field, allowing them to navigate in ways we still don’t fully understand. Even inside a transport box in a car, Onyx would be able to sense when she was near home.

Although the exact release site was probably not her colony, it is most likely close enough that she would have had no trouble making her way back. If Sulphur Creek was indeed where she belonged, it is only a short distance away as the penguin swims.

When Onyx was carried down to the beach and released into the ocean she was calm and composed, but as she swam out, scanning the rocky outcrops and finding her way through them it didn't seem that she was very familiar with her surroundings. She found her way through the rocks and into the open water where she very quickly disappeared.

Onyx is a truly remarkable penguin, and we feel incredibly privileged to have known her so closely during her rehabilitation. But more than anything, we are thrilled to say goodbye to her and watch her disappear back into the ocean where she belongs.

Thank you to everyone who helped support Onyx through her rehabilitation - especially those who adopted her. Thank you to Ruth, Lesley, Drift & Tumble, Ted, Mia, Jenny, and Cheryl.

Since the last update, our Golden Girls have all been progressing through rehabilitation — each in their own very differ...
23/05/2026

Since the last update, our Golden Girls have all been progressing through rehabilitation — each in their own very different way.

Rose has by far been the simplest case of the three. She was not affected by the pool debacle that caused so many of our penguins to lose their waterproofing, so her waterproofing has remained excellent. She has been spending lots of time swimming, is fit, healthy, fully waterproof… and has even been starting to get a little bit pudgy.

The only problem is that Rose doesn’t like being alone in the pool. Whenever she’s swimming by herself, she circles the edge of the pool calling for other penguins to join her. Unfortunately, because so many of the others have still been struggling with waterproofing, she hasn’t been getting quite as much company as she would like.

Rose is such a gentle, placid little penguin that for a while we genuinely wondered if she might have sustained a head injury. We have since concluded that no — that is simply her personality.

While she is incredibly mild-mannered, we have now seen her give the occasional fledgling a stern word when they have annoyed her too much. More importantly, however, we have also seen that she has excellent predator awareness.

One day, when a bird flew overhead above the enclosure, the moment the shadow passed across, Rose instantly vanished into a burrow completely out of sight. Exactly the response we want to see from a penguin preparing to return to the wild.

Onyx has also been doing well. Her waterproofing has been steadily improving as she has worked hard at preening — carefully getting all of her feathers back into place and coating them properly with preen oil. Her foot injury has now healed, and she has finished her medication, so overall she has been doing very well. She has simply needed more time to continue rebuilding her waterproofing and fitness before she’s ready for the ocean again.

Our most complicated case, however, has definitely been Sapphire.
Sapphire has been badly affected by the de-waterproofing debacle. After already arriving into care with severe feather damage and trauma from whatever had happened to her previously, losing her waterproofing again appears to have deeply affected her psychologically.

Every time we have placed Sapphire in the pool, she has been visibly happy and excited to get into the water, but then almost immediately, she has also become stressed. As soon as she has begun swimming, she has started looking worried. As soon as another penguin has begun struggling in the water or “turtleing” around the pool, Sapphire has panicked and immediately demanded to get out.

What has confused us is that physically, her feathers often haven’t actually looked that bad when she came out. She has been making progress with her waterproofing. But Sapphire has behaved as though she could feel the water seeping through into her down feathers, and she has become increasingly desperate to leave the pool. She has always been one of the first penguins to get out of the pool, swimming directly into the net to tell us she is done.

Naturally, we have been extremely concerned. We worried she might not have been preening properly due to stress, or worse, that she might have been over-preening which can permanently damage feathers until the next moult cycle. Keeping Sapphire in rehabilitation for another full year for a repeat moult was never going to have been emotionally manageable for her, so this possibility has been heartbreaking.

For what has felt like an eternity we have watched anxiously, hoping she would improve. But every day she remained one of the first penguins wanting to leave the water. It has genuinely seemed as though she has become frightened of swimming.

Eventually, we realised the problem had not been physical at all.
Sapphire is an exceptionally intelligent and experienced penguin. She remembers that the last time she was in the water, something terrible happened to her feathers. She didn’t understand what the danger was, but she knew that the pool had once caused harm, and that it might happen again.

So every time she has entered the water, she has been torn between desperately wanting to swim and fearing the unknown danger she believed might return. Whenever she has seen another penguin struggling in the pool, she has become convinced the “danger” was back and immediately wanted out.

Once we understood that this had been psychological trauma rather than failed waterproofing, we knew there were ways we could help.

We have started Sapphire on a very mild sedative to help take the edge off that panic response, and we are very pleased to report that it appears to have been helping. She has still been cautious, but she has no longer been spiralling into full panic the way she was before. She has been able to stay in the pool for longer periods, which has in turn allowed her to build more fitness and improve her waterproofing further.

That extra confidence in the water is exactly what we have been hoping to continue building for her.

We have felt so bad for Sapphire (and all the others) that they have been put through this unnecessary setback in their rehabilitation.

Rest assured we have been doing everything we can to get them back out into the ocean where they belong as quickly as possible.

Thank you for following their journey and supporting us through all of the highs and lows.
A special thankyou to the people who have adopted Sapphire, Onyx, and Rose. Thankyou Rebecca, Georgia, Teresa, Marianne, Ruth, Drift & Tumble, Lesley, Ted, Mia, Cheryl, Marion, John, Jenny, Julie, and Rebecca

It’s Volunteer Week, and we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the absolutely incredible people who keep Penguin Rehab...
21/05/2026

It’s Volunteer Week, and we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the absolutely incredible people who keep Penguin Rehab & Release running.

Our volunteer team is very small. The work is very hard. And what these people do matters enormously.

Wildlife rehabilitation is not glamorous work. It is long hours, heavy lifting, endless cleaning, emotional highs and devastating lows. It is early mornings, late nights, fish in your hair and penguin p**p on your clothes.

There is literal blood, sweat, and tears involved in rehabilitating penguins — especially when certain residents (looking at you, Crimson) are determined to help us contribute the blood part.

And yet our most dedicated volunteers continue to show up, day after day, because they love these penguins.

Penguin rehabilitation is emotionally demanding work. These volunteers carry the heartbreak of the losses, and they also share the incredible joy of seeing a penguin finally healthy, waterproof, and ready to return home to the ocean.

This year, we are hoping to send some of our volunteers to the International Penguin Conference so they can continue learning, building skills, and bringing that knowledge back to help improve penguin rehabilitation and conservation here at home.

If you would like to thank our volunteers for everything they do, please consider donating the cost of a coffee towards helping get them there. Every small contribution genuinely helps. https://gofund.me/5618c3f40

To our volunteers: thank you for every sand bucket carried, every towel scrubbed, every difficult day endured, and every penguin loved.

You are magnificent.

UPDATE: Crimson has officially made bail and has now been released back into the wild.After several weeks in custody, Cr...
19/05/2026

UPDATE: Crimson has officially made bail and has now been released back into the wild.

After several weeks in custody, Crimson finally gained enough weight to begin swim therapy. We were hopeful this would help redirect some of his considerable energy into healthy rehabilitation activities, rather than wanton property destruction.

Unfortunately, after only a couple of swim sessions, it became clear that Crimson had lost interest in swimming alone and was very keen to explore the enclosure outside the pool and meet the other penguins. He began spending his swim time calling to the other penguins, and despite the trauma that Crimson was putting us through on a daily basis, we began to feel sorry for him.

Given his increasing obsession with the other penguins, a risky decision was made to transfer Crimson from solitary confinement into general population.

This arrangement was approved under strict conditions:
• No assaulting other penguins
• No assaulting volunteers performing enclosure maintenance
• No property destruction
• No escape attempts
• Minimal criminal activity overall

Against all expectations, Crimson mostly complied.

While living in general population, Crimson was calm around the other penguins. For reasons known only to him, he appeared perfectly capable of socialising appropriately with his own species.

Humans, however, remained firmly on his enemies list.

Despite integrating well with the colony, Crimson continued displaying deep distrust, active dislike, and at times outright violence toward his carer. Feeding him became a highly specialised tactical operation.

In order to safely catch him for feeds or swim time, his carer was forced to develop what can only be described as psychological warfare. The carer would casually wander through the enclosure pretending to have absolutely no interest in Crimson whatsoever — moving aimlessly, never making direct eye contact, carefully keeping him only in the corner of her eye while appearing entirely non-challant. Only once Crimson had been lulled into a false sense of security would she suddenly move in to scoop him up.

Crimson reacted to this betrayal with his characteristic violence every single time.

While Crimson may have eventually learned to tolerate other penguins, he never once extended that courtesy to humanity.
With the exception of his violence towards humans, Crimson proceeded to serve the remainder of his sentence with what could technically be described as “good behaviour” — a phrase nobody involved in his care ever expected to use — and was finally once again fit for the wild. Due to this shocking turn of events, Crimson was granted early release.

At the same time, four fledglings were also nearing release readiness, so the decision was made to release them alongside Crimson.

What followed looked less like a wildlife release and more like an organised crime operation.

The moment they hit the water, Crimson immediately took control of the situation. Calling loudly, he rounded up the fledglings, keeping them tightly grouped around him as he escorted them through the waves like a seasoned mob boss with his nervous junior associates.

Witnesses reported the fledglings keeping formation while Crimson barked orders. The fledglings complied immediately, presumably aware that failure to do so would have consequences.
Together, the gang disappeared out toward open water under Crimson’s leadership, beginning what we can only assume will become a highly successful criminal enterprise.

Crimson has left more than an impression on the PR&R team. He has also left several scars.

Goodbye, Crimson. Please don’t ever come back.

Thankyou to those who paid Crimson’s bail through adoption. Thankyou Sue, Griff, Melanie, and Caity.

Update on our golden girls- Sapphire, Onyx, and RoseThe past few weeks have taken us on quite a rollercoaster.On the day...
11/05/2026

Update on our golden girls- Sapphire, Onyx, and Rose

The past few weeks have taken us on quite a rollercoaster.
On the day we celebrated the successful release of Opal, Colonel, and their group, we experienced a catastrophe. Every penguin in our remaining mini-colony suddenly lost their waterproofing. During swim time their feathers were suddenly waterlogged and they were no longer buoyant.

After investigating, we traced the cause back to maintenance to the pool plumbing carried out by a tradesperson the previous day. A small amount of plumbing glue used on a pool fitting had inadvertently introduced a surfactant into the water. While this product is safe in most contexts, substances like this — even in tiny amounts diluted through thousands of litres of water — can break down the waterproofing of penguin feathers.

It’s a confronting reminder of just how sensitive waterproofing is, and why we are so careful about anything that may come into contact with the penguins or their pool — from cleaning products to lotions and sunscreen. Under normal circumstances we would closely supervise any work involving the pool, but with the sheer number of penguins currently in care, we have been working at full capacity to keep up.

The impact on the penguins was devastating.

Sapphire, in particular, took this setback very hard. After arriving in care with severe feather damage, she had only recently grown a beautiful, fully waterproof coat. To suddenly lose that again left her visibly distressed. She became withdrawn, stopped interacting with the other penguins, and spent long periods standing quietly, often in front of a mirror, with a very subdued posture. It was heartbreaking. Most concerningly, she stopped preening, which is essential for restoring waterproofing.

Re-waterproofing is not instant. Penguins must carefully preen layer upon layer of oil from their preen gland through their feathers, aligning and “zipping” each feather back into place. This process typically takes around two weeks, but it depends heavily on the individual bird’s behaviour.

We completely drained the entire pool, dried it out, flushed all plumbing lines, cleaned the filtration system, and then refilled and rebalanced the water.

We also needed to keep the penguins as healthy as possible while they were largely land-bound and encourage as much preening as we could. Short, supervised swims are a key part of this process, even before they are waterproof, helping stimulate preening both in and out of the water. However, ongoing wet and cold weather meant the penguins were often already damp and chilled, limiting how often we could safely put them in the pool. This slowed progress considerably.

Onyx initially coped well and continued preening, but she experienced her own setback. Her foot, previously injured in an entanglement, is still vulnerable, and the extended time on land placed extra pressure on it. She developed an infection, likely due to sand becoming trapped near the base of her nail. She received prompt veterinary treatment for both infection and pain, and we’re pleased to report she has now completed her medication and is recovering well.

It’s difficult knowing that, under normal circumstances, both Onyx and Sapphire would likely have been in their final stages of rehabilitation — or even already released. Instead, this setback left Sapphire lethargic and disengaged, and Onyx dealing with a secondary injury.

Amidst all this, Rose reached an important milestone. She was ready to move into the outdoor enclosure and begin her final stage of rehabilitation, including her first swim.

After everything that had happened, there was understandable uncertainty. We had done everything possible to eliminate the contaminant from the pool, but we couldn’t be completely sure until a waterproof penguin entered the water again.

Rose went in with her fresh, fully waterproof coat… and to our relief, she came out just as waterproof as she went in. It was the first real sign that there was hope that we might be able to get Onyx, Sapphire, and the others all waterproof again.

Progress has continued to be a bit of a rollercoaster, but we are finally able to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
Onyx is preening well and is progressing nicely toward full waterproofing again. Sapphire is improving much more slowly. She is still subdued and not preening as effectively as we’d like, but we are doing everything we can to support and encourage her at her own pace.

Only Rose is exactly where we hoped she would be — fit, strong, fully waterproof, and nearing readiness for release. Throughout her care, she has remained the same gentle and calm penguin we first met in intensive care.

This has been a challenging period, but it highlights how delicate penguin rehabilitation can be. We’re continuing to work with each penguin and get them back to full health, and ultimately, back to the wild where they belong. When we finally get to the “end” of this season and the all the penguins are released, it is going to be such a relief. We’re exhausted.

Thank you for following their journey and supporting us through all of the highs and lows.

A special thankyou to the people who have adopted Sapphire, Onyx, and Rose. Thankyou Rebecca, Georgia, Teresa, Marianne, Ruth, Drift & Tumble, Lesley, Ted, Mia, Cheryl, Marion, John, Jenny, Julie, and Rebecca.

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