Social media has been reporting a story during the past week about a penguin that swims 5,000 miles (8,047 kilometers) every year to reunite with the man who saved his life. The story first appeared in February on a media network in Brazil. It involves a very sick penguin who was caught in an oil spill and then nursed back to health by a Brazilian man in 2011
Biologist Paulo Krajewski documented the heartwarming story for Globo TV that was published on March 6.
Krajewski explains that 71-year-old Joao Pereira de Souza found the penguin Dindim in his backyard near a beach in Rio de Janiero State, according to KTLA. He was very sick and had a difficult time moving.
The retired mason then nursed the penguin back to health. He washed the oil off the bird's body and fed it sardines for a couple of days.
When Dindim was strong enough de Souza took the bird to a nearby island and released it into the sea. However, later that day the Brazilian man heard the penguin after it returned to his backyard and was calling out to him.
Dindim lived in de Souza's backyard until February 2012. His 2-year-old grandson became close to the penguin and inspired the flightless bird's name.
The toddler had problems pronouncing the Portuguese word "pinguim" (penguin) and said "dindim" instead.
One day the penguin disappeared but the black and white bird returned months later. Krajewski explains that penguins usually return to the same breeding site every summer.
Dindim returned to De Souza's backyard in June 2012. He might swim thousands of miles every year to stay from June to mid-February. After the penguins breed and molt they feed in the sea for months.
Dindim and other Magellanic penguins live off the coast of South America. They can survive in the ocean for up to five months before they must return to the coast.
In related news the world's smallest penguin species could be in danger. The little penguin Eudyptula minor stands less than one foot (0.3 meters) tall. Warmer seas linked to global climate change are causing the little birds to avoid warmer areas where there are fewer fish, according to National Geographic.