Rocky first arrived at our partner SAPREC’s facility in September 2024. He was hungry, skinny, with severe sunburn, and in an arrested moult.
He had to stay out of the sun and have sunscreen applied daily. Rocky fought hard. He gained weight, finished his moult, and in December 2024, our partner released him back into the ocean with a microchip and a second chance.
Six months later, July 2025, that tiny microchip told an incredible story. Rocky had washed up in Plettenberg Bay and was taken in by Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.
There, the team discovered he was one of our partner’s birds, and that he had survived a severe shark bite.
He had lost nearly half his release weight, yet he still held on.
For five more months, he healed, grew stronger, and bravely pushed through.
On December 8, 2025, Rocky returned to the ocean once more, released on Outlook Beach alongside 10 other Tenikwa penguins.
Go well, Rocky. Twice rescued, twice released. May the ocean be kind on your next adventure.