The royal penguin swam thousands of kilometers to end up on a beach in South Australia

A king penguin has traveled from the Antarctic region to the coast of South Australia, where it is likely to stay on land to undergo a "molt."

Members of a local bird-watching society were surprised to spot the bird on a beach thousands of kilometers from its usual habitat, as reported by The Guardian.

Every year, penguins shed all their feathers. Within two to three weeks, they replace them with smooth, freshly oiled, waterproof ones. During this period, they lack protection from the icy waters, so they seek land, typically much closer to their home.

The chairman of Friends of Shorebirds South East, Jeff Campbell, was part of a group of eight people conducting a bird survey along Kurong Beach when they spotted the penguin.

Campbell mentioned that it was "quite a surprise" but not entirely unprecedented: a king penguin was sighted in Port McDonnell, near Mount Gambier, in 2004.

According to him, this particular king penguin had never encountered a human before, which explains why it made contact so easily – the bird simply isn't aware that humans can be dangerous.