Gus, the Young Emperor Penguin Who Made a Surprise Appearance in Australia, Is Now Heading HomeWildlife caretakers released the bird into the Southern Ocean after hed put on some weight and regained his strength Gus did not hesitate to belly flop into the ocean. DBCA / Miles BrothersonThe emperor penguin that made global headlines after waddling ashore on a beach in Australia has been released back into the wild.Surfers spotted the out-of-place bird on Ocean Beach in Denmark, Western Australia, on November 1. Somehow, the juvenile male had ended up more than 2,100 miles from his home in Antarctica.Carol Biddulph, a registered wildlife caretaker, took the black-and-white bird to her home, where she has a dedicated penguin enclosure. The three-foot-tall penguin was malnourished and weighed just 47 pounds, which is well below the average weight of around 88 pounds for the species.Emperor penguin released at sea 20 days after waddling onto Australian beachWatch on For the last three weeks, Biddulph and her husband, Graham, have been carefully nursing the bird back to health, according to a statement from Australias Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).At first, Biddulph didnt know what to call the penguinor whether to name him at all.I really didnt know whether he was going to make it to begin with because he was so undernourished, she says in a video shared with media outletsby the DBCA.But once it seemed like the juvenile would recover, Biddulph started brainstorming. She thought about historical emperorsand her brain landed on Roman emperor Augustus for some crazy reason, she adds.[The] shortened version of Gus just seemed to suit him. So thats what it is, she says in the video. By the end of his recovery, Gus was eatingroughly 20 pilchard fish three times each day. DBCA / Miles BrothersonBiddulph helped Gus regain weight through a gentle process of refeeding him, not too fast, not too slow, just right, she says. She and her husband started by giving him fluids, then moved on to a slurry. Eventually, they began feeding him whole fish.Once hed made a full recovery, Gus was eating roughly 20 pilchard fish, also known as mulies, three times each day. Before his release, he weighed about 55 pounds and was in a much chunkier shape, Biddulph says.As he was regaining his strength, Gus enjoyed standing next to the big mirror in his enclosure. Since penguins are social birds, he might have thought his reflection was a fellow emperor penguin.I find for other species of penguin that I have in care, the mirror is a must-have, especially when Ive only got one in at a time, says Biddulph in the video. When theres two or three [penguins], its great, they can bounce off each other, but when youve just got one, they just need that comfort of knowing theyve got a buddy. The emperor penguin liked to stand next to a big mirror in his enclosure. DBCA / Miles BrothersonOn the day of Gus release, he was placed into a ventilated pet carrier with an ice pack and loaded onto a small DBCA vessel. With Biddulph, her husband, a veterinarian and a wildlife officer on board, the boat sailed out of King George Sound in Albany, Western Australia.Once they reached an undisclosed location in the open Southern Ocean, the caretakers placed the carrier on the edge of the boat and opened one side. Without hesitating, Gus belly flopped into the water below with a splash, took a drink and began swimming.Magnificent. He just knew where he was supposed to be, didnt give a backward glance and just disappeared, says Biddulph in DBCA footage captured on the boat. Its just amazing. He was ready for it. After jumping into the water, Gus took a drink and swam off without looking back. DBCA / Miles BrothersonFor her part, Biddulph says she enjoyed taking care of Gus and will miss him. But at the end of the day, shes thrilled to see him back where he belongs.I got into wildlife care not to make these birds my pets, she says. I want birds to be free, and every one that we care for that goes back to its natural environment means that weve done our job well.Its still a mystery as to how and why Gus ended up so far from home in the first place. Experts believe he may have been looking for food, then got caught up in a current.To ornithologists, Gus is whats known as a vagrant. Especially during the spring and fall migrations, its fairly common for birds to end up in unusual placesand their appearances are always a treat for birdwatchers.Some vagrants get blown off course by storms, while others have been known to catch rides on boats. Since birds use Earths magnetic field to navigate, its also possible that disruptions to that field due to space weather might cause them to lose their bearings. But vagrancy largely remains a mystery to scientists.If a species showed up all the time, wed just consider that to be part of their range, says Casey Youngflesh, a biologist at Clemson University, to National Geographics Tatyana Woodall. Truthfully, we still dont understand a lot about the marine environment and dont have a good idea where many animals spend their time.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Animals, Antarctica, Australia, Biology, Birds, Conservation, Good News, Oceans, Penguins, Sea Birds, Water, wildlife