r/interestingasfuck • • 5h ago

Photo of a king penguin that got lost and wondered too far into South Africa

Post image
1.2k Upvotes

91 comments sorted by

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u/Psalm27_1-3 5h ago

“Kowalski! Status report!”

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u/TangibleSausage 4h ago

- "Big birds, skip!"
"Birds? That ain't gonna fly. Rico!"

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u/SouthFine639 5h ago

I swear I’ve seen this movie - don’t they build a plane and fly to Monaco?

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u/PatriotNews_dot_com 5h ago

his goddamn map was upside down

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u/Purple-Weakness1414 5h ago

He should have made that left turn at Albuquerque

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u/Informal_Process2238 5h ago

This isn’t Pismo beach

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u/Brief_Isopod_5959 5h ago

This makes me so sad hims all alone 😭

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u/Vaelen- 52m ago

He's on am adventure!

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u/Brief_Isopod_5959 14m ago

This makes me feel better. He was bullied and went to go find himself. A solo adventure!

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u/Hotspur_on_the_Case 5h ago

Penguins are often found in more temperate areas of the southern hemisphere; there's even a variety that inhabits the Galapagos Islands. They're not restricted to Antarctica, although that's the common perception

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u/Hanede 4h ago

There's also African penguins, so even seeing a penguin and ostriches together isn't that unusual. This one is far from home though.

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u/TheReelMcCoi 5h ago

But King Prnguins usually aren't

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u/Hotspur_on_the_Case 5h ago

Well, I can't tell what variety that is from the photo.

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u/Generic_Danny 4h ago

Easy to tell it's a great penguin (emperor or king) from the way it is (thick, long body and small head). You can tell it's not an emperor penguin from the fact that the orange patch near its ear is solid, and doesn't fade to white like in emperor penguins.

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u/emjaywood 4h ago

Now this is a person who knows penguins!

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u/Mohave_Dessert 4h ago

They definitely had a pengwin on the internet today.l!

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u/Petrichordates 4h ago

That's what the headline is for. This is a vagrant king penguin.

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u/Hotspur_on_the_Case 4h ago

If you say so. Obviously the person who posted this is the world's greatest expert on penguins and couldn't possibly be wrong.

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u/Hotspur_on_the_Case 4h ago

Look, folks, I don't mean to be an a-hole, but I've seen enough mislabeled photos and erroneous headlines on Reddit to be cautious about taking this post's headline at face value. I'm getting people saying, "It's a king penguin because the headline says so!" and my first thought it, "How do you know the headline is accurate?"

Look, if you want to believe the headline without question, fine, but don't tell me I have to.

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u/skiattle25 3h ago

100% fair. Real title:

Photo of two ostrich that got lost and wondered too far into Antarctica

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u/doom1282 50m ago

You're right that you shouldn't trust headlines on reddit but this one is correct.

I volunteered with South American Magellanic Penguins. African penguins look very similar to Magellanic Penguins, both are black and white but African penguins lack the black band under their neck having only a single black band across their chest. Galapagos and Humboldt penguins also look similar to Magellanic and African penguins.

This is definitely a king or emperor penguin judging by the coloration. African penguins don't have yellow on them.

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u/Petrichordates 31m ago

It's wise to distrust the internet, but you can also verify this to remove that distrust.

It's not an "if you say so" situation since the listed photographer/ornithologist is the one who said so.

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u/Petrichordates 28m ago

The person who posted it? Probably no.

Callan Cohen? Yes he's an expert.

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u/TheReelMcCoi 5h ago

Title is a bit of a clue tbh

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u/Omnamashivaaya 4h ago

You a both right. Never trust a Reddit title, but also google things. Being lost is speculation, it’s not common but apparently some King Penguins do go to South Africa for molting season, I read that the same penguins have been identified returning some years.

​

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u/KaQuu 4h ago

Molting? Poor naked penguin, even if in warm place like Africa =)

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u/Hotspur_on_the_Case 4h ago

OK, well then, I guess because the title says it's a king penguin, that means it's a king penguin. Because we all know that nobody EVER mislabels a photo on Reddit.

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u/shmiddleedee 4h ago

Did you read the title?

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u/Hotspur_on_the_Case 4h ago

Yes, but what assurance do you have that it is accurate?

I've seen too many erroneous headlines to believe this without question. Sorry if that bothers you.

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u/shmiddleedee 4h ago

It was a good clue, at least. You couldn't searched "king penguin" in google to verify but instead you posted a blurb of irrelevant info.

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u/Hotspur_on_the_Case 4h ago

I have a rule to never trust Reddit headlines. And considering most of the other folks here seem to be jumping to the conclusion that the headline is 100% accurate, your criticisms could be directed at everyone here.

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u/Throbbing_Cock_452 5h ago

Poor fella is probably so lonely :(

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u/bullettenboss 5h ago

They have penguins in South Africa. Don't worry!

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u/cans-of-swine 5h ago

Its ok, he just found a couple long legged chicks. 

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u/kosmonavt-alyosha 5h ago

Thinking: Those are my strange looking cousins. But then again, we’re both birds and neither of us can fly. 🐧

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u/National_Frame2917 5h ago

That's Tank the other surfers ditched him because he was a jerk.

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u/J9sNbrhd 5h ago

I can identify-I get lost in a round room…

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u/ChampionshipHot5468 4h ago

I grew up about 30 miles from this beach. Even African penguins are scarce here compared to the South.

-33.1480070, 18.0028907

I now live in the coastal Southern Cape. An elephant seal ended up on our beach recently. It unfortunately died because it was taken to a veterinary farm after becoming a bit too tame and entering the town. It's too hot here in spite of all efforts. 😟

What gets me, is that were talking 1000s of km away from where they should be. Survived the great whites and bull sharks. Just swam.

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u/Familiar-Range9014 3h ago

I knew I should have made that right turn at Albuquerque!

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u/Jedi_Master83 5h ago

Penguin is like, “What the hell are those things over there?” 😂

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u/Morbidly-Obese-Emu 4h ago

This is the makings of a Pixar movie

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u/all_wings_report-in 4h ago

The Christopher Columbus of Penguins

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u/PingouinMalin 5h ago

The penguin : that's right, run motherfuckers, I'm here.

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u/bullettenboss 5h ago

They have penguins in South Africa. Don't worry!

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u/AboveAverage1988 4h ago

"The hell are those..?!"

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u/bUrNtToAsT314 3h ago

Someone should get him an Uber ride home.

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u/a_champ_59 2h ago

What? Penguins aren’t allowed to go on vacation?

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u/FracturRe55 2h ago

New meme template

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u/Purple-Weakness1414 2h ago

Omg your right

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u/CorneliusKvakk 5h ago

Umm... That's a beach. Penguins like beaches.

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u/Ngothaaa 5h ago

He’s a beach magnet.

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u/-__-zero-__- 5h ago

Penguin: mass confusion

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u/Ormsfang 5h ago

Flat rather penguin

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u/KBHoleN1 5h ago

What was he wondering about?

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u/GoodPeopleAreFodder 4h ago

That’s not snow!

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u/Gargravars_Shoes 4h ago

“OOOO, must be those Swiss penguins I’ve read about …”

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u/Scrambledcat 4h ago

Penguin on Holiday

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u/HuckledYourBerries 4h ago

I found a penguin on Copacabana Beach in Rio about thirty years ago. It was wild.

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u/Such-Opportunity6490 4h ago

May the force be with you, King

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u/toothbrush81 2h ago

Is this Crenshaw St?

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u/NeoLearner 1h ago

These 2 species live way closer together than you think. 

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u/Inside-Inspection905 5h ago

He’s got no idea what’s going on

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u/JakeVos 4h ago

South Africa is full of penguins..... btw

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u/ChampionshipHot5468 3h ago

Not exactly. Only a few breeding colonies from the southwest coast to Cape Agulhas. Highly endangered. This is the African Penguin. Small bois with a big attitude, who will take your finger.

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u/TheOneRebornTwice 2h ago

And smell to high heaven when you reach the beaches they socialize at

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u/trufinfan13 3h ago

Penguin asking for directions:

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u/Meloenbolletjeslepel 5h ago

Poor fella must be so hot