The bird was spotted by a man in Strood on 11 November and taken to a local vet before being transferred to the RSPCA's Mallydams Wood in East Sussex. Manager Bel Deering said the puffin, nicknamed Pat, had been "rather weak and wobbly" but had no injuries. It was released back out to sea on the high tide at Pett Level beach.
Ms Deering said it had been fed a diet of fresh sand eels and sprats, and was given regular dips in the centre's pool. She said it was a "bit of a mystery how it ended up sickly and stranded in Strood" and that the pavement outside a post office was "an unusual habitat for a puffin".
"As puffins are normally found further north than Medway, Pat is an exceptional admission for us and has raised a lot of interest among staff and volunteers," she said. An RSPCA spokesman added that the puffin had been "nicknamed Pat after the world's favourite postman".
2 comments:
Many puffins are Fratercula Arctica which is from the Latin for "little brother"; supposedly a reference to their black and white plumage, analogous to monastic robes. Basically puffins look like monks. Don't get me started on F. corniculata which is a horny puffin.
Heh heh, I had to check that F. corniculata existed! :)
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