Meet Monique, the Chicken Sailing Around the World


14 June, 2016

This is What's Trending Today....

Guirec Soudee is sailing around the world.

The 24-year-old Frenchman has already been at sea for two years. He set sail from the Canary Islands in May of 2014. He has since traveled along Africa's west coast, through the Caribbean Sea and up to the Arctic Ocean.

Guirec Soudee and his hen Monique are sailing around the world together
Guirec Soudee and his hen Monique are sailing around the world together

Soudee is the only person on his sailboat. But he is not making the trip alone. He brought along his pet chicken with him.

Soudee met Monique the hen on the Canary Islands shortly before he began his around-the-world voyage. At the time, the bird was only about four months old. Soudee told a BBC reporter that he knew "she was the one straight away."

While planning for his trip, Soudee had considered bringing along an animal for companionship, but not necessarily a chicken. But as he told the BBC reporter, "the hen was an ideal choice. It doesn't need that much looking after and I'm able to get eggs at sea." He noted that Monique makes about six eggs a week.

The sailing chicken has made international news.

The story has also become popular on social media. As one Twitter user wrote this week, "this hen has a better life than me."

Monique and her owner are currently in Greenland. They plan to sail to Alaska next. You can find reports about Soudee's trip on his Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages.

And that's What's Trending Today.

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Words in This Story

voyage - n. a long journey to a distant or unknown place especially over water or through outer space

companionship - n. the good feeling that comes from being with someone else