New Zealand farmers teach blind penguin how to swim
Blindy the penguin was born with a malformed head and beak
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A penguin, who has been unable to see since birth, is being taught to overcome its disability thanks to swimming lessons from some local farmers.
The aptly named Blindy was found by the Helps family in Flea Bay, New Zealand.
Now 12-weeks-old, the little penguin is given regular swimming lessons by its rescuers, having stood slim chances of survival in the wild.
Born with a malformed head and beak, the animal mostly swims in circles being unable to see where it’s going.
The disability also makes it hard to tell if Blindy is a male of female penguin according to Shireen Helps.
Helps believes the penguin is too disabled to return to the wild, but she hopes that a zoo might be able to care for the animal in time.
Shireen takes Blindy and other rescued penguins down to the nearest pond for daily exercise. While some penguins need little encouragement from a bucket, Blindy is literally thrown through the air into the water.
Although unable to swim like the rest of the colony, no penguin other than Blindy gets to fly.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments