2 Rogue Penguins Return To Sushi Bar After Police Ban Them

Penguins don’t care about our silly human laws.

Case in point, two little blue penguins were removed not once, but twice, from a sushi truck located in the Wellington railway station, close to New Zealand’s Wellington Harbour, on Monday, Radio New Zealand reports.

The two vagrants were first spotted around 6:30 a.m. Monday nesting under the shop, Sushi Bi. Police removed and temporarily detained them before releasing the birds back into the wild.

Yet later that night, the waddling renegades returned to the shop, possibly crossing four lanes of busy traffic to get to their fishy haven. They may also have made their way to the shop traveling along freshwater pipes in the area, TV New Zealand reports.

Wini Morris, who works at the sushi shop, said she heard something fishy — that is, cooing sounds — and busted the pair. She said they were most likely hiding near the shop’s nice warm grills. (Remember, it’s winter in New Zealand.)

“It’s pretty insane the idea that some penguins are camping out under your shop,” she told Radio New Zealand. “But it’s adorable I think ― they’re probably terrified but it’s adorable.”

The Department of Conservation was called to remove the culprits the second time and it released them at a safe nesting spot near the waterfront, Radio New Zealand reports. But the department said it is still monitoring the Sushi Bi site, given that little blue penguins are likely to try to return if they feel they’ve established a nesting spot.

In fact, Constable John Zhu, who removed the penguin pair the first time, said he’d been called out on Saturday evening to rescue a “grumpy little penguin” from nearby Featherston Street, TV New Zealand reports.

When the news hit Twitter, people loved the cute rebels.

Jack Mace, Wellington operations manager at the Department of Conservation, said the birds were pretty common in the harbor area, but he’s never seen any of them try to make a home inside a sushi shop.

He also noted that little blue penguins are pairing up and looking for spots to nest this time of year, but fortunately won’t lay eggs until later in the winter.

The department asked motorists to be on the lookout in case the penguins decide to come back, according to TV New Zealand.