As a kayak adventure guide and marine biologist from Cape Town, South Africa, Kirshia Govender is familiar with African penguins. So the other day, when she was leading a kayak tour and a penguin swam up to her boat, she knew the bird was in trouble.
“I realized something was wrong because it was circling, [and] it was also a bit vocal, and it’s just very unusual behavior,” Govender told The Dodo.
Govender decided to paddle up to the penguin to see what was going on. Normally, any bird would swim away as quickly as possible from any human who comes near them. But this animal did the exact opposite.
Kirshia Govender
“[T]he next thing I knew, it just hopped up onto my kayak,” Govender said.
Once Govender got over the initial shock of having a wild animal on her boat, she figured out why the penguin had been acting so strangely — they were injured. The bird had some kind of wound on their chest, likely the result of a bite from another animal.
It took half an hour for Govender to paddle back to shore with the penguin. The whole time, the bird was incredibly friendly and seemed to have been grateful to have been saved. The animal made peaceful braying noises, tried to preen Govender and even wrapped their wings around her.
Kirshia Govender
“The best was the hugs,” Govender said. “I must say, the hugs from an African penguin — my word … It was very special.”
As soon as Govender got back on dry land, she called the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). The organization agreed to take in the bird and nurse the animal back to health.
Govender was happy to have played a small role in protecting and caring for an African penguin, a species that’s as iconic as it is vulnerable.
“African penguins are critically endangered, and there’s fewer than 8,000 breeding pairs left,” Govender said.
The penguin will stay at SANCCOB until they are feeling up to returning to the wild. As for Govender, she will always cherish the memory of the time she got to hug an African penguin.
Kirshia Govender
“It’s just something I’ll always remember because this animal chose to trust me,” Govender said. “It’s an experience I’ll treasure for life.”
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