An emperor penguin surprised locals when it turned up on an Australian beach after an epic journey of thousands of miles from its home in Antarctica.

The penguin arrived at Ocean Beach in Western Australia on Friday, according to a statement from Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), sent to CNN on Wednesday.

A spokesman described the penguin as “malnourished”, adding that the animal “remains in the care of a trained and registered local wildlife carer”.

“The rehabilitation process is expected to take a few weeks,” said the spokesman, who added that the wildlife carer was being supported by a DBCA officer.

Ocean Beach is more than 2,200 miles north of Antarctica, suggesting the penguin likely swam much further to reach Australia.

Belinda Cannell, a researcher at the University of Western Australia, told Australia’s public broadcaster ABC News that this is the first time an emperor penguin has ever been seen up north.

The penguin may have followed a current north from Antarctica, he said.

“They follow currents where they’re going to find a lot of different kinds of food,” Cannell told ABC. “So perhaps these currents tended to be a bit further north towards Australia than usual.”

A surfer told ABC he saw the penguin emerge from the sea. “It was huge, it was way bigger than a seabird and we’re like, what’s this thing coming out of the water? And it had a tail sticking out like a duck,” Fowler said.

“He tried to kind of slide on his belly, thinking it was snow, I guess, and he just planted himself in the sand and got up and shook all the sand off,” Fowler said.

Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of the 18 penguin species. They can weigh up to 40 kg and be 45 inches (1.1 meters) tall.

A female emperor lays one egg per breeding season and then passes it on to her male partner to incubate while she forages for about two months.