A bunch of 49 penguins who ran to the shoreline from an oil spill off New Zealand have been set free after being scrubbed and nursed back to health by concerned officials

The birds are among 343 little blue penguins that have been painstakingly cleaned of oil since a cargo ship ran aground on a reef near Tauranga on Oct. 5 and spilled some 400 tons of fuel oil.

Upward of 2,000 sea birds died in the spill. The penguins were taken care of at a wildlife facility manned by a team of competent and ardent specialists from New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

With a combination of confusion and exhilaration, some of the adorable animals ran in the wrong direction, others hunted and looked about for their friends and flapped around in circles before charging for the water, where they moved up and down about in the surf.

They were the first group to be go home to the sea as part of a staged discharge programme over a period of several weeks. The next group is expected to be set free sometime next week though no specific date has yet been confirmed.

Wildlife Response Manager Kerri Morgan said that it is important wild penguins do not remain in captivity for too long because they can develop unwanted grievances and ill health. "It's been a little bit nerve-wracking and a long process to get here," she said.

The penguins were fitted with microchips so they can be kept an eye on even after their release. Those that helped with the rehabilitation of the affected penguins are looking to see that the incident would not happen again as it takes too much from the penguins to recover from something like that.

Watch the video: