Meet Dindim, the penguin who returns to his human soulmate every year

Four years ago, Joao Pereira de Souza, 71, found a South American Magellanic penguin covered in oil and starving on a beach on an island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. A friendship was born. 

Since they met in 2011, the creature, which normally breeds on the Patagonia coasts of Argentina and Chile, three to five thousand miles away, has become a faithful companion, swimming every year from its habitat to spend up to eight months living with the retired fisherman in his house on the island.

“I love the penguin like it’s my own child and I believe the penguin loves me,” said Mr Pereira de Souza in an interview with Globo TV, in which the bird honks with delight as he recognises his human friend. “No one else is allowed to touch him. He pecks them if they do. He lays on my lap, lets me give him showers, allows me to feed him sardines and to pick him up,” said Mr Pereira who has named the penguin Dindim.

Mr Pereira de Souza believes Dindim formed a bond with him after he found it stranded on the beach and took him home. Over a week he cleaned the creature’s tarred feathers in the shower, fed him a daily diet of fish to improve his strength then took him back to the sea to let him go.

“But he wouldn’t leave, he stayed with me for 11 months and then just after he changed his coat with new feathers he disappeared,” recalled Mr Pereira de Souza. “Everyone said he wouldn’t return but he has been coming back to visit me for the past four years. He arrives in June and leaves to go home in February and every year he becomes more affectionate as he appears even happier to see me.

Biologist Joao Paulo Krajewski, who interviewed Mr Pereira de Souza for Globo TV, told The Independent: “I have never seen anything like this before. I think the penguin believes Joao is part of his family and probably a penguin as well. When he sees him he wags his tail like a dog and honks with delight.”

Penguins live for about 25 years and are known for their loyalty to their mates, staying with the same partner until they die. However, environmentalists warn that, while hundreds of the Magellanic species are known to naturally migrate thousands of miles north in search of food, there has been a worrying rise in the phenomenon of oceanic creatures washing up on Brazil’s beaches. Between 2010 and 2013, the Humpback Whale Institute in Bahia recorded more than 180 cases of mammals stranded along the Brazilian coast.

From The Independent

Question 1 (2 points) Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a. The penguin reproduces in Rio de Janeiro.

b. The penguin is friendly to most people, as well as to Mr. Pereira.

c. Most people didn’t believe the penguin would come back.

d. Penguins keep the same partner for most of their life.

Question 2 (2 points) Answer the following questions in your own words.

a. What did the  biologist Joao Paulo Krajewski, say about Mr Pereira de Souza in their interview?

b.  What do environmentalists comment about oceanic creatures?

Question 3 (1.5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.

a. very hungry (par. 1) b. loyal (par. 2)           c. close relationship  (par. 4)

d. move from side to side (par. 6)  e. increase (par. 7)

Question 4 (1.5 points) choose the correct answer

1. A South American Magellanic penguin ….

1. found covered in oil.
2. was found covered in oil.
3. found Joao Pereira covered in oil.

2. Dindim …………………..

1. is believed to have formed a bond with Mr Souza.
2. believes to have formed a bond with Mr Souza.
3. was believed to be forming a bond with Mr Souza.

3. Dindim disappeared ….

1. instead of changing his feathers.
2. before he changed his feathers.
3. as soon as he changed his feathers.

Question 5 (3 points) Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

What can be done to help save animals in danger of extinction?

 

KEY

Question 1: [2 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a) FALSE “ the creature, which normally breeds on the Patagonia coasts of Argentina and Chile”

b) FALSE “No one else is allowed to touch him. He pecks them if they do”

c) TRUE “Everyone said he wouldn’t return”

d) TRUE “Penguins live for about 25 years and are known for their loyalty to their mates, staying with the same partner until they die”

Question 2 [2 POINTS] Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) - never seen that before

     - penguin believes Joao is part of family (even a penguin)

b) - usually go north for food / -now stranded on Brazil's beaches / - many cases recorded

Question 3: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

a) starving

b) faithful

c) bond

d) wags / (to) wag

e) rise

Question 4: [1,5 POINTS] Choose the most suitable answer (a, b or c) according to the text.

1. b) was found covered in oil.
2. a) is believed to have formed a bond with Mr Souza.
3. c) as soon as he changed his feathers.