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Perth Zoo’s northern rockhopper penguin Pierre melts hearts binge-watching Pingu

Bryce LuffThe West Australian
VideoVictoria to live-stream its famous penguin parade.

A brave and rare little penguin recovering at Perth Zoo is riding out isolation exactly like the rest of us - by binge-watching a whole lot of TV.

Northern rockhopper Pierre was brought to the zoo after washing up on an Albany beach.

A feather moulting issue means he’s not completely waterproof and can’t be released back into the wild, but he’s gained a whole stack of fans while on his road to recovery in Perth.

As the only penguin of his type currently under the care of a zoo in Australia, veterinarians have been monitoring him closely and working to keep him busy.

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Extra screen time has factored into that, with his carers playing him rockhopper penguin documentaries on an iPad and showing the juvenile livestreams of his species at international zoos in the US and UK.

Like many Aussies, he’s also taken a massive shining to Pingu, a children’s claymation TV series about anthropomorphic penguins who talk in a mix of mutterings and honks referred to as ‘penguinese’.

Pierre the penguin is a big fan of Pingu.
Camera IconPierre the penguin is a big fan of Pingu. Credit: Perth Zoo

Pierre absolutely loves it, and people around the world have fallen for the tech-savvy juvenile who may soon be on the move.

A Perth Zoo spokeswoman told The West Australian it could take between two and four moulting cycles before he’s back to 100 per cent and officials are considering a shift to an international zoo so he can recover among other fellow northern rockhoppers.

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