Penguin swims from New Zealand to Australia

A tiny penguin has been released back into the wild after swimming from New Zealand to Australia.

The small Fiordland penguin was found struggling amongst the rocks in the Kennett River over the summer, and it was taken into care by the Melbourne Zoo to nurse it back to health.

Now, the animal has been released to make the 2,500km journey back home.

The zoo's head of veterinary services Dr Michael Lynch added: "We are hoping that it will get back to New Zealand and breed.

"We put a microchip into the bird so if it does turn up back in New Zealand one day and someone reads that microchip we will be very happy."

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