Rescuers save critically endangered penguin found face-down on beach

This is the dramatic moment wildlife rescuers raced to save a stranded penguin found helplessly lying on a beach with its head buried in the sand.

Catherine Hauw, 35, a wildlife veterinarian, was alerted by a jogger who spotted the exhausted African penguin stranded on Brenton-on-Sea beach in South Africa on April 28.

The wildlife vet rushed to the scene alongside a medical assistant and discovered the critically endangered bird weak and motionless with its beak buried in the sand.

Using a towel and a box, the rescuers carefully carried the penguin from the beach before transporting it to a nearby veterinary clinic for urgent treatment.

The penguin was examined by vets, who found the animal had suffered only a small wound to its abdomen.