While enjoying her afternoon walk on Tinley Manor beach last week, Barbara McCabe noticed her Fox Terrier, Tickle, barking at something, only to make a very unusual discover: a penguin.
“The penguin was lying on his tummy, feet sticking out. He was quite feisty and would not let me near him,” said McCade, who lives at Palm Lakes Estate.
She quickly drove home to fetch her husband and a towel and returned to the beach.
“We managed to wrap the towel around him and took him home.
“We contacted KZN Wildlife honorary officer Lionel van Schoor and he immediately collected the penguin from our home.”
Shortly afterwards, the penguin specialist from Ushaka Sea World fetched the bird for a full health exam.
It turned out to be a juvenile African penguin – an endangered species – with an old, healed shark bite wound on his back.
A blood smear showed that he also had malaria.
It is believed that he may have gotten lost while following the sardines.
Haviana, as he is now called at the Ushaka Sea World hospital, was given rehydration fluids and has started with his malaria treatment.
He has started eating sardine tails and is slowly regaining his strength.
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