10-4 Kowalsky!

Can you keep a secret, my monochromatic friend?

Do you ever see any penguins running free around Madagascar?

Of course not. They don't belong here. It's just not natural. This is all some kind of whacked out conspiracy.

OR IS IT?

THERE ACTUALLY WAS A PENGUIN OF MADAGASCAR (just one).

Yes, yes, I'm finally addressing the red herring, ok? I can only avoid talking about it for so long. 

This is a thing. It's a rather annoying thing when you're trying to look up facts about the ACTUAL country of Madagascar, and all that keeps popping up is stuff like this: 

Thank you...Dreamworks.   o_o

ANYWAYS. Whether you love or hate these movies, and the never-ending spin-offs...you've gotta love those penguins. I mean, they're kind of adorable. 

Now, as improbable as it may seem, there HAS in fact been at least one documented case of a penguin visiting Madagascar. Not an animated one, a real-life, Southern Rockhopper Penguin. Like one of these:

It was found by a Malagasy school teacher in 1956, and a photo was sent to French scientist Renaud Paulian, who identified the species and published the extraordinary find. It is believed he made his way there from breeding grounds on islands off South Africa, about 1500 miles away. Based on the time of year, he was likely on a trek to find food while his mate incubated their egg. As far as we know, this is the only REAL wild penguin who's ever visited the island.