Sketch by witness
The Ehime Penguin is a cryptid reported from Ehime, Japan.
Sightings and Reports[]
In late February 2023, a woman was returning home in her car when she spotted a penguin-like creature in front of her on the left and braked suddenly. It was 80 cm tall and had a rounded body shape, unlike a heron. Its flippers were lowered to the side of its body. There were no harnesses, collars, or other features on the creature's body that would indicate that it had been kept in captivity. It walked awkwardly on two legs and crossed the road over the center divider. Since she only saw the creature's back and not its side or front view, she recalled that the creature may have moved sideways as it passed in front of her car.
She told others but they did not believe her experience. It was later discovered that her son's friend had also seen a penguin-like creature on the same day at a nearby location.
A birding expert thought that what she saw was in fact a black-crowned night heron. However, she testified that what she saw was in no way a heron, based on the length and thickness of the creature's legs and the way it walked.