Far from Antarctica, a penguin saved the day in east Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

A 76-year-old woman fell off a hiking trail in Ricketts Glen State Park, seriously injuring her head and hip. Rescuers did not arrive for an hour and a half, but the woman got help from someone known locally as Tux.

Chad Spencer, who works as the mascot for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League, found the woman on his hike. Spencer, who has some medical training, tended to the woman as she waited for help.

"All I did was just talk to her and told her stories and try to make her laugh and feel at ease as much as I could and that's funny because that's my job," Spencer says. "It's kind of what I do."

As of Tuesday evening, there was no news of the woman's condition, but Spencer says he hopes to remain in touch.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, the NHL parent team of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, gave a shout-out to Spencer and Tux on Facebook.


Hats off to our Wilkes-Barre/Scranton friend, Tux The Penguins Mascot, for helping to rescue a woman who had fallen nearly 40 feet.

Posted by Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, September 16, 2015


I think any penguin would have done the same thing!! Thanks Pittsburgh!!!

Posted by Tux The Penguins Mascot on Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Tux has come a long way from this 2012 "dance dare" video in response to The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

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-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.