A runaway penguin spent two weeks missing at sea. A typhoon may have saved her

Tokyo CNN —

A runaway penguin has been found safe in Japan nearly two weeks after she first went missing, having paddled 45 kilometers (28 miles) during a typhoon in a survival story her keeper called “miraculous.”

The six-year-old Cape penguin, who goes by the name “Pen” and was born and raised in captivity, was swimming with staff from the traveling Gekidan Penters zoo at a beach on central Japan’s Himakajima island on August 25 when she escaped, Pen’s keeper Ryosuke Imai told CNN.

Pen's first time swimming in the ocean was at the beach from which she escaped.

While taking a dip in the ocean to avoid heatstroke, Pen suddenly became agitated and swam through a hole in her enclosure out into open waters. Her escape left Imai wracked with worry and guilt.

African penguins can swim up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) a day, he said, but in captivity, their muscle mass decreases. Pen had never swum in the sea before visiting that beach.

“I couldn’t help but feel despair,” Imai told CNN. “The chances of her surviving in the wild were very low.”

Pen, left, stands alongside her partner, Gan.

A lucky break would keep Pen safe.

A powerful typhoon called Shanshan brought high winds and torrential rain to the country at the end of August, killing at least six people, displacing millions, knocking out power and disrupting air travel.

But, amid the destruction, the typhoon was a boon for little Pen, Imai said. With no boats able to operate, Pen avoided collisions and getting caught in fishing nets. The record rainfall provided a reliable source of hydration and cooling.

“She survived because of the typhoon,” Imai said. “It was almost miraculous timing.”

Pen's keeper, Ryosuke Imai, rescued Pen after someone spotted her on a beach