The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach, officials said Friday.

The adult male, named ‘Gus’ by his caregivers, was found on November 1 on Ocean Beach sand dunes in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia—about 3,500 km north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast.