Not even penguins are immune to putting off Christmas shopping to the last minute.
A little blue penguin wandered into Mather’s Jewellers in Oamaru on Wednesday.
Co-owner Suzanne Mather had never seen anything like that happen before.
‘‘It was most bizarre,'' she said.
‘‘I thought initially it was a duck or a pigeon, but soon found out it was a little blue that lost its way.’’
She confirmed the penguin, now known as ‘Little Jewell’ did not buy anything, and was soon returned to the sea by the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony.
Science and environmental manager Dr Philippa Agnew said this was a common occurrence, especially at this time of the year.
‘‘Lately we’ve been called out a couple of times a week,'' she said.
‘‘Mostly they’re chicks that are ready to fledge and have left their nest and wandered the wrong way.’’
It was important for people to understand that the penguins that make their way into town are not part of the colony.
‘‘We have these two managed colonies [of penguins], but those ones we’re picking up in town, they naturally live in town.
‘‘They’re not lost or from the colony, they’re just other birds that breed elsewhere.’’
Dr Agnew encouraged anyone who sees a penguin around town to call the colony immediately.
