It is about as far south as you can get in England but the Solent has never been known as a haven for penguins - until now.
It has been suggested that the bird could be a lost jackass penguin, whose natural habitat is 6,000 miles away in South Africa Photo: REX FEATURES
Daytrippers on Southsea beach near Portsmouth were astonished to see what
appeared to be a lost penguin frolicking in the shallows, it was reported.
The Sun newspaper published grainy footage of a black and white seabird diving
in and out of the waves on Sunday, as the south coast enjoyed record October
temperatures.
Earlier, the bird is said to have been seen waddling around the harbour to the
surprise of onlookers.
The newspaper suggested that it could be a lost jackass penguin, whose natural
habitat is 6,000 miles away in South Africa.
The claim of a sighting in the Solent came only a few months after an
Antarctic Emperor Penguin nicknamed “happy
feet” caused a global sensation when it turned up in New Zealand.
Joanne Gordon, 35, of Aldershot, who shot the footage, told the paper: “I
couldn’t believe it when I saw it swimming around away just six foot from
me.”
It is the latest in a series of unlikely sightings of exotic visitors off the south coast of England in recent years.
In 2007 The Sun ran a series of stories reporting that a great white shark had been spotted in the area.
It later transpired that the footage at the centre of the scare had been shot near Cape Town.
In August last year there was panic after French officials received reports of a crocodile in the Channel.
Beaches were closed and warnings broadcast by coastguard before it was finally established that the “creature” was a piece of driftwood.
source
It is the latest in a series of unlikely sightings of exotic visitors off the south coast of England in recent years.
In 2007 The Sun ran a series of stories reporting that a great white shark had been spotted in the area.
It later transpired that the footage at the centre of the scare had been shot near Cape Town.
In August last year there was panic after French officials received reports of a crocodile in the Channel.
Beaches were closed and warnings broadcast by coastguard before it was finally established that the “creature” was a piece of driftwood.
source
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