CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Avoiding the deadly clutches of sharks and seals, Peter the penguin paddled the final miles Monday of his marathon swim home.
The plucky 18-inch-tall African penguin was among roughly 20,000 birds rescued from a June 23 oil spill, trucked up South Africa's west coast and released to swim the 750 miles home on instinct alone.
The journey was foisted on the birds by officials who wanted to give them time away from home while the oil dispersed. It appears the tactic worked: Most of the fuel is gone, and experts predict the little that remains won't be harmful.
Peter and two other penguins, dubbed Pamela and Percy, became the stars of the flock when they were equipped with satellite tracking devices attached to their backs so they could be monitored by experts at the University of Cape Town.
Thousands of South Africans have kept daily tabs of their progress on the Internet while local headlines have hailed their journey.
Peter, who was released near the town of Port Elizabeth on June 30, has led the pack and was due to arrive Monday at his home on Robben Island, about four miles off the coast of Cape Town.
The tracking equipment could not pinpoint exactly where and when the penguins would make landfall.
''Sadly there will not be a reception committee there to meet him. Provisionally and tentatively, we are declaring Thursday to be the official celebration of 'Welcome home penguin','' said Les Underhill of the avian demography unit.
Percy, who was released July 5, was due to arrive Thursday at his home on Dassen Island, about 40 miles northwest of Cape Town, while Pamela, who was released July 3, is just over halfway home.
There were tense moments last week when the tracking devices failed to register readings, raising fears the birds had fallen prey to sharks. But the birds came back online shortly thereafter.
The penguins find their way home by instinct, using a built-in navigation system that scientists do not fully understand.
The June 23 oil spill involving the Panamanian tanker Treasure was South Africa's worst environmental disaster. Authorities are unsure how much of the tanker's 1,300 tons of heavy bunker oil leaked into the sea.
In addition to the 20,000 clean penguins released into the sea, 23,000 birds that were soaked with oil are being cared for in rehabilitation centers in Cape Town.
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On the Net:
Penguin site, http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/
