Din Din is a South American Magellanic penguin. Five years ago, he was covered in oil, near death on an island beach near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Retired bricklayer Joao Pereira de Souza, a part-time fisherman, found the bird and nursed him back to health. Din Din stayed with de Souza for nearly a year, refusing to leave. But then one day, he did.A few months later, Din Din was back, and he’s returned every year since, at the end of breeding season, which lasts from September until late February or early March. He stays with the fisherman until it’s time to go again.
South American Magellanic penguins breed in large colonies along the coasts of Argentina, southern Chile, and the Falkland Islands, around the far southern edge of the continent – meaning Din Din could be traveling as much as 5,000 miles on his yearly round trip. Credit: YouTube/Ilha Grande Webdoc