Timmy’s on the naughty list
Scanning the beautiful blue waters, I let out a happy sigh.
‘We should head off soon,’ I told my hubby Ian.
We’d been fishing with our son Corban, then six, at Hawkes Bay, but it was getting late. As we were packing up the rods, Ian pointed to the water.
‘What’s that over there?’ he asked.
Squinting into the distance, I saw what looked like a tiny bird struggling in the sea.
Moving closer, we realised it was a little penguin.
‘Happy feet!’ Corban squealed in delight.
The poor little thing was floating awkwardly in the water, struggling to swim.
And as the waves pushed him ashore, I started to worry.
‘We have to go see if he’s okay,’ I said.
As the penguin washed up towards the bay, we hurried over.
Caked in sand, the poor bird was twitching in pain.
Calling a wildlife rescue centre, I asked for advice.
‘Try wrapping it up and then bring it over to us,’ they suggested.
So Ian gingerly picked up the quivering penguin, cocooned him in a beach towel, and gently placed him in an esky.
Of course, Corban was thrilled when he got to sit beside his new penguin pal! Every so often, the little guy let out a weak chirp.
‘He doesn’t look good,’ I fretted to Ian.
After dropping him off at the wildlife centre, Corban kept asking about his new friend ‘Happy Feet’.
The centre gave us updates about the penguin, assuring us he was recovering well.
A few weeks later, Ian and Corban popped by for some cuddles. They were told he was a male white-flippered penguin, and discovered he had a spinal injury, possibly caused by a boat. But after chiropractic treatment he was walking again, although still a little wobbly!
‘I’m so happy he’s okay!’ Corban said.
Because of his injuries, he
When Fiona rescued a penguin, she had no idea he’d become an international star! Fiona Bell, 45, Napier, NZ
The poor bird was twitching in pain
would never be able to go back into the wild. He was going to be transferred to the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier.
Luckily, we already had a season family pass!
Heading to the aquarium, Corban reunited with his little friend who’d been given a new name – Timmy!
Then, a few months later, I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw a hilarious photo of Timmy.
Stole fish. Pushed another penguin over, a sign read. It turned out, the aquarium had a ‘naughty’ and ‘good’ penguin of the month.
And Timmy had been awarded the naughty penguin award!
We love Timmy, however he’s a regular offender of stealing fish and pushing other penguins out of the way while flicking up sand in the process, the aquarium had written.
‘He’s been toughened by his sketchy past!’ I joked.
One of the other penguins, Betty, had been named good penguin of the month for being a good swimmer and waiting patiently for fish.
We thought it was hilarious and so did everyone else – the photo was shared 6700 times and had 12,000 likes. Our little penguin had gone viral!
The fish-stealing penguin had captured our hearts – and the rest of the world too.
After Corban visited Timmy a few more times, I noticed online that the aquarium was having another contest for the 2018 Penguin of the Year.
‘Let’s get everyone to vote for Timmy!’ Corban said.
Over the next few weeks, we got friends and family to cast their votes.
Corban and Ian were invited to the grand ceremony at the aquarium in October.
Amazingly, our naughty Timmy won!
Incredibly, people from as far away as Canada, the UK and Singapore had voted for him. It was a real rags-toriches story.
Corban got to go inside the penguin enclosure and cuddle his little buddy once again.
We couldn’t believe the
‘Let’s get everyone to vote for Timmy’
bird we’d saved three years earlier had become an international star.
I’m so glad we didn’t leave that struggling little fellow behind at the beach.
Now we have a feathered friend for life!