First, they thought it was a "soft toy". But then, "the penguin moved his head". Harry Singh and his wife were walking near Christchurch, New Zealand, when they stumbled across a seabird looking "exhausted" and lost.

Fearing the penguin would "end up in a dog's or cat's stomach", they called animal rescue. Experts were shocked to discover it was an Adelie penguinThe Antarctic penguin is known for its bold nature, despite its size. In a 2018 BBC documentary, an individual chases off a giant petrel threatening Emperor penguin chicks., a species found 3,000km south in Antarctica.

Nicknamed Pingu, the traveller was nursed back to health and released, its rescuers hope it will head home.

Zoologist Philip Seddon says Pingu's incredible journey was "super rare". He suspects the bird is a juvenileA juvenile is a child or young person who is not yet old enough to be regarded as an adult. that strayed too far.

Writer David Barrie is fascinated that animals don't get lost more. His book Supernavigators explores nature's "astonishing feats of navigation".

A sea turtle circles "an entire ocean", says Barrie, before laying its eggs on the same beach it began. Monarch butterflies fly thousands of kilometres to "tiny areas in the highlands of central Mexico" where they spend the winter.

For years, animal navigation was a mystery. A 17th-Century scholar suggested storks overwintered on the moon. In the 1970s scientists discovered where Monarch butterflies go.

Many animals find their way with senses we don't have. Pigeons, whales and giraffes detect infrasoundLow-frequency sound waves travel for hundreds of miles and even further underwater. over hundreds of miles. Eels and sharks use electric fields and mayflies and lizards sense the polarisation of lightHumans can distinguish the colour and brightness of light. Some animals can also detect the direction light waves oscillate as it reflects off different surfaces..

Scientists believe many migratory birds use the Earth's magnetic fieldScientists don't know how animals do this. Magnetite, a magnetic mineral, has been found in bird beaks, but it appears not to be used as a natural compass needle.. Researchers have transported sparrows 10,000km away from the normal route and they have still reached their destination.

Conservationists warn human behaviour interferes with many of these abilities. Research shows pesticides may disorientate honeybees, leading to colony collapse disorder. City lights have a catastrophic effect on insects.

"Then there's climate change", says David Barrie. A recent study of 4,000 species revealed about half of all life is on the move. Habitats are shifting to cooler latitudes and at an alarming speed. On land, species are moving on average 17km every decade. At sea, this change is happening four times faster.

Migratory animals are especially vulnerable because they rely on multiple habitats along their route.

Adelie penguins travel 13,000km each year from their breeding colonies to foraging grounds and back. But penguin rescuer Thomas Stracke says they are struggling to find food as fish head into "deeper cold waters".

Philip Seddon warns penguins are "marine sentinelsSentries or people who keep lookout." and their behaviour is an "early signal that things are not good" underwater.

No. This is just one bird. Pingu is the third Adelie penguin to reach New Zealand in sixty years. Seddon says we should only be concerned if we see "annual arrivals". Jumping to conclusions is an overreaction.

Yes. He is not alone. In 2017, an entire colony of 40,000 Adelie penguins lost all but two of their chicks. It was the second mass death in four years. Changing conditions in Antarctica are forcing penguins to travel further.