Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Penguin swiped from zoo
On Saturday, some jerk stole this baby penguin from Amazon World, a zoo on the Isle of Wight in Southern England. The bird, named Toga, is a Jackass Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), but I think the real jackass is the thief. From the Associated Press:
Link (Thanks, Gabe Adiv!)Zoo manager Kath Bright said the bird, who was taken from a compound where he lived with his parents and four other penguins, would probably die of malnutrition if not urgently returned.
"Toga is very, very vulnerable. The penguin is still being fed by his parents and we don't believe it could survive more than five days," she told The Associated Press.
UPDATE: Many readers suggest this is a hoax, pointing to this children's book, this Snopes page, and this NPR report. However, I haven't seen any evidence convincing me that this particular story is fake. If it's revealed as a hoax, I'll be sure to post a correction.
UPDATE: According to the BBC News, a reward is now offered for the return of the penguin. Link
posted by David Pescovitz at 04:54:48 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments
