--- title: Penguin Duo Removed Again From New Zealand Sushi Sopt description: A pair of renegade penguins returns to the New Zealand sushi where they were hiding, ignoring police officers who initially removed them. canonical: https://time.com/5627294/penguins-return-sushi-spot/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-16T14:24:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:59:32.142Z og:title: Renegade Penguin Pair With No Respect for Authority Return to Favored Sushi Spot After Initial Removal og:description: They returned to their hideout after their cover was blown og:url: https://time.com/5627294/penguins-return-sushi-spot/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Renegade Penguin Pair With No Respect for Authority Return to Favored Sushi Spot After Initial Removal twitter:description: They returned to their hideout after their cover was blown twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Renegade Penguin Pair With No Respect for Authority Return to Favored Sushi Spot After Initial Removal by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jul 16, 2019 2:24 PM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jul 16, 2019 2:24 PM UTC You can’t tell [penguins](https://time.com/5192828/viral-penguin-selfie/) that they can’t have something, because it will only make them want it more. And a pair of small mischief-making blue penguins proved exactly that. A sushi spot in [Wellington, New Zealand](https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-48989469) became the unexpected site of a viral penguin hideout where the two birds recently hid beneath the foot truck near Wellington Railway Station. They were “flying under the radar” until someone heard them making “cooing, humming sound” which tipped them off, according to [local news](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/16/penguins-detained-by-new-zealand-police-after-sushi-shop-stakeout). That’s when police stepped in. “Waddling vagrants were removed from their sushi stand refuge by Constable John Zhu,” the police stated on a Facebook page. After they were taken away, they were released into the harbor. But that was far from the end of it. The repeat offenders came back. In very loud defiance of police, the penguins were found in the same spot, returning at nighttime. They have since been removed again, according to multiple outlets. > [](https://twitter.com/FirstUpRNZ/status/1150861028214710272) > [](https://twitter.com/NZMorningReport/status/1150869596296978432) This is the time of year that [penguins look for place to lay eggs](https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2018/04/25/worlds-smallest-penguins-new-zealand/552270002/), which may explain the adventure. > [](https://twitter.com/DrDreHistorian/status/1150699781854879744) Or perhaps they’re just really big fans of sushi? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5627294/penguins-return-sushi-spot/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5627294/penguins-return-sushi-spot/"},"headline":"Renegade Penguin Pair With No Respect for Authority Return to Favored Sushi Spot After Initial Removal","datePublished":"2019-07-16T14:24:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:59:32.142Z","description":"A pair of renegade penguins returns to the New Zealand sushi where they were hiding, ignoring police officers who initially removed them.","url":"https://time.com/5627294/penguins-return-sushi-spot/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5627294/penguins-return-sushi-spot/","name":"Renegade Penguin Pair With No Respect for Authority Return to Favored Sushi Spot After Initial Removal"}}]}] ```