Penguin roams from the foreshore to the Z forecourt

A young penguin has been rescued from Z Energy’s (Z) Oamaru service station after they made their way to the store earlier in the month.

The unusual customer was certainly a surprise says Z retailer Jonathan Usher, but he was pleased to see the penguin returned safely to the wild by a local conservation organisation.

“We don’t usually get penguins wandering onto our forecourt, but it was great to see first-hand the team from Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony in action to rescue, feed and return it back into the wild safely”.

The Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony organisation provides tours to visit the little blue penguins, with funds from the tours contributing to the long-term conservation and research programmes for the penguins. 

“We’ve been aware of the work the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony do in the community as some of our staff take some time out to volunteer with the organisation,” continues Jonathan.

Following the friendly visitor being rescued, Z has made a $2,500 donation to the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony organisation, to support their future efforts in keeping these penguins safe.

The donation will contribute to providing key equipment for their research and monitoring programmes, such as scales, microchips and predator traps, said Science and Environmental Manager, Dr Philippa Agnew.

The donation is in addition to the $5,000 recently donated to Oamaru charities and organisations through Z’s annual Good in the Hood initiative.

Abbie Bull, Head of Community and Sustainability at Z, said “It’s great to be able to provide some extra support to organisations doing good in our backyard.”