General News
17 April, 2026
A right Royal visitor
THE seabird rehabilitation centre at Mosswood Wildlife has recently hosted – and released – a very special ‘Royal’ visitor.
A Royal penguin, which spent time at Mosswood going through its annual molt, was recently released by centre volunteers after spending some time recouping and preparing for the upcoming season.
“The penguin was found by a group of people near The Basin in Killarney and they thought they were doing the right thing trying to herd him back into the ocean,” Mosswood administration and volunteer coordinator Colleen Edwardsr said.
“However, as a sub-Antactic species, this Royal penguin was about to go through a catastrophic molt so was no longer waterproof and just needed a safe place to hide on land away from people and predators.”
Described as a ‘catastrophic molt’ this is a period where penguins need to shed and replace all their feathers at once.
This process is essential for their survival in cold environments as their feathers provide insulation and waterproofing.
During molting, penguins must increase their fat stores to survive as they cannot swim or hunt while shedding and regrowing feathers.
This process typically happens once a year and they may lose up to 50-70 per cent of their body weight.
“As interest in this unusual visitor grew, the penguin began showing visual signs of stress and Mosswood had no choice but to make the designated seabird rehabilitation centre at Mosswood his safe place to molt.”
With no ‘penguin friends’ at Mosswood during his time at the wildlife centre, staff began looking at ways to ensure he didn’t become lonely.
And that’s where volunteers at the Koroit Lions Club Op Shop stepped in and donated the perfect mirror to ensure ‘the lonely penguin’ was no more.
“This penguin really was given the best chance of survival as he had a safe, private spot to molt, access to all the fish he could dream of, and his mirror buddy for company,” Ms Edwards said.
“He was safely released late last month and was in good health and good condition.”
