SYDNEY, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- An injured penguin suffering from a missing flipper is recovering well and has even gained weight after animal rescuers found it at a St Kilda inner suburb beach in Australia's Victoria state, zoo authorities said on Friday.

The penguin, which made local headlines after its ordeal, now weighs about 1.9 kg compared to an average penguin weight of 1 kg to 1.5 kg and is learning to swim again following two months of rehabilitation, the Melbourne Zoo said in a statement.

The aquatic bird "has made great progress, even learning to dive again," and has been "immediately accepted" by the zoo's marine animal colony, zoo manager Justin Valentine was quoted as saying.

The injured animal cannot go back to the wild because it would not be able to hunt, the state capital's zoo said.

Phillip Island southeast of Melbourne is a major tourist draw with its sunset penguin march. Other than Victoria's coast, the birds are also found in the wild up the coast of New South Wales state to just north of its capital Sydney and west into South Australia state, the zoo said.

The penguins "depend on a pollution-free habitat and can suffer injuries caused by manmade objects, including floating plastic bags, netting, fishing line, and balloons."