Surfing, Swimming, and Sailing: You Name It and Monique the Adventurous Chicken Has Done It

Humans are known to be versatile in their talents. Especially some athletes, who are known to play more than one sport. And not only play it but excel at it. The examples are abundant. Bo Jackson is a perfect reference. He was named an All-Star in both baseball and football. The basketball legend Michael Jordan also tried his hand at baseball. Deion Sanders is another athlete who played both baseball and football. While the list goes on for humans who play multiple sports, ever heard of a chicken doing the same?

Well, there’s a first time for everything. Hear ye, hear ye, the story of this adventurous chicken. A sailor, a surfer, a swimmer, need we say more? This chicken has probably played more sports than many humans, and according to her partner-in-crime, Frenchman Guirec Soudée, she is quite good at it.

The discovery of a new star athlete

The year was 2014 when Guirec Soudée set off on his 30-foot sailing boat to conquer the high seas. He did so without any companion and no proper communication equipment. But this voyage changed his life forever. The story was aired when Soudée talked about his life in an interview with BBC Outlook. According to a Facebook post shared by BBC World Service, this is when Guirec Soudée found his new best friend. He came across a Rhode Island Red hen, and, as he recalls, “I met Monique and we fell in love.”

Together, they started a wonderous 5 year-long journey across the world. And through thick and thin, they were together. These five years, she was his lone confidante and they became best friends. Soudée even taught her how to swim. And even though he was worried about how she would do, she passed with flying colors. “I saw waves coming. I just saw Monique drifting from the deck and at the last moment she gave a small flap with her wings… she came back so wet!”

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Monique soon learned how to swim well. As a consequence, she tagged along with her sea-mate even when he went surfing on his surfboard as well as his windsurf board. Together, they had many escapades.

The surfing- and other- adventures continue

The symbiotic relationship, that Guirec Soudée and Monique share, is remarkable. While Monique provided her partner with delicious eggs to survive on, he taught her some important survival skills. They proved the naysayers, who said Monique wouldn’t be able to thrive due to stress, wrong. Soudée said, “I know her, she almost smiles.” Not only did she thrive, but she also became so good at fly-fishing that he left her own teacher in the dust. “She was much more faster than me and she was winning most of the time.”

After they crossed the Atlantic together, Soudée set course for Greenland. however, things went south and they had to spend 70 days in the dark and they were stuck in the Arctic ice for 130 days. But Guirec Soudée did not lose hope, as he had the most comforting compatriot. “I was speaking to Monique all the time,” he says, “and she was like a companion… I think it would be very different if she would have not been with me… she gave me a lot of love.” They even went sledging together during Christmas. It is truly remarkable what Monique can do as a chicken.

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Have you ever come across an animal who was as versatile in sports as Monique the chicken?