Snatched penguin may be Christmas gift

Linda7NJ · Dec 20, 2005

LONDON (AP) -- A baby penguin believed to have been snatched from a British zoo as a quirky holiday gift is unlikely to survive until Christmas Day, his keeper warned Tuesday.

Toga, a 3-month-old Jackass penguin, was stolen Saturday from Amazon World on the Isle of Wight in southern England.

Zoo manager Kath Bright said the bird, who was taken from a compound where he lived with his parents and four other penguins, probably would 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.

"The bird has already been missing for around three days and is likely to be severely dehydrated. If he isn't returned before Thursday, he is likely to become so ill that even intensive care treatment won't save him."

The brown-and-white penguin will bite if frightened and refuses to be fed by human hand, Bright said. Toga is too young to have yet had a gender confirmed but traditionally is referred to as a male, she added.

more at link:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/12/20/britain.penguin.ap/index.html

BillyGoatGruff · Dec 21, 2005

It'd have to be a gift for a rich SOB. And the reality of penguins is fdifferent from the "cute" imagery we have in the popular culture. I worked in a zoo with pengies and the 3 most important things to remember about them are:
1) they bite. hard.
2) they stink of fish oil. not surprising, given their diets.
3) they poop a lot. and that smells like fish too.

deanws · Dec 21, 2005

I bet the little guy is already dead. I can't stand when people hurt animals. Stupid...STUPID!

PrayersForMaura · Dec 21, 2005

I've never heard of a jackass penguin. I thought they were describing the person who took him :behindbar

That is so cruel.
I hope the little guy survives. He needs to be in surroundings comfortable for him, even if it is a zoo.

BillyGoatGruff · Dec 22, 2005

PrayersForMaura said:
I've never heard of a jackass penguin. I thought they were describing the person who took him :behindbar

That is so cruel.
I hope the little guy survives. He needs to be in surroundings comfortable for him, even if it is a zoo.

There are several different types of penguin: jackass, chinstrap, emperor, etc. I think the jackass has stripes and tufted "ears", an are on the smaller end of the breed. Emperors can get to be very large (the size of a child).

I was half-right, They're striped. They're the most recognizable form of pengy, though, and can handle warmer weather, as they're from South Africa.
http://www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/birds_jackass_penguin.htm

tired.old.hag · Dec 22, 2005

Penguin cam. I love looking at these little guys.

http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_splash/splash_cam.asp

Floh · Dec 22, 2005

This makes me cry.

i have been lucky enough to have seen -- up close and personal -- penguins in a natural habitat in Chile. how lovely they were.

how sorry i am this little bloke will die for no reason other than greed and stupidity. :cry:

Linda7NJ · Dec 22, 2005

Poor little dude is probably already dead. What a terrible shame

GoldenGoose · Dec 22, 2005

I am afraid to tell you that they fear this little guy is dead, they recieved a telephone call saying it had died , been put in a plastic bag and left in Portsmouth dockyard....if this turns out to be the case I hope they find the people responsible and rip their testicles off........sorry got a bit carried away there :blushing:

Linda7NJ · Dec 22, 2005

GoldenGoose said:
I am afraid to tell you that they fear this little guy is dead, they received a telephone call saying it had died , been put in a plastic bag and left in Portsmouth dockyard....if this turns out to be the case I hope they find the people responsible and rip their testicles off........sorry got a bit carried away there :blushing:

No problem, removing them with sterile scissors will be fine!

Sassygerl · Dec 22, 2005

That makes me sick!!!!!! So sad

deanws · Dec 22, 2005

This makes me sick!

BillyGoatGruff · Dec 22, 2005

GoldenGoose said:
I am afraid to tell you that they fear this little guy is dead, they recieved a telephone call saying it had died , been put in a plastic bag and left in Portsmouth dockyard....if this turns out to be the case I hope they find the people responsible and rip their testicles off........sorry got a bit carried away there :blushing:

Well, it had to be an inside job. Someone who works at the zoo, or knows someone who does and bribed them for access.

PrayersForMaura · Dec 23, 2005

GoldenGoose said:
I am afraid to tell you that they fear this little guy is dead, they recieved a telephone call saying it had died , been put in a plastic bag and left in Portsmouth dockyard....if this turns out to be the case I hope they find the people responsible and rip their testicles off........sorry got a bit carried away there :blushing:

Yes, I just read a story about that. It makes me cry

Here it is:

Plight of stolen baby penguin raises global concern

London -- Police ran down leads and the Royal Navy was on alert Thursday in the search for Toga, an 18-inch-tall baby penguin stolen from an Isle of Wight zoo last weekend, creating a national soap opera rivaling Elton John's same-sex wedding for media coverage.

"We're all a bit ragged here, to say the least," said Kath Bright, manager of Amazon World Zoo Park, which has received nearly $13,000 in donations -- including $600 from the United States -- to offer as a reward for the safe return of the 9-pound South African jackass penguin.

The theft has been covered exhaustively in the British media -- and television stations as far away as Australia. Sky News, which had a grim-faced reporter live at Amazon World, showed photos of Toga throughout the day and urged anyone with information to call in.

"No questions asked," an anchor said. "We just want to get Toga back to his mum and dad."

The saga took a dark turn early Thursday following anonymous phone calls to Amazon World and to GMTV, a BBC morning television show, in which the caller said he had dumped Toga into Portsmouth harbor in a plastic bag. Bright said the calls seemed to jibe with a report the zoo received Wednesday night. A boater returning from a trip through Portsmouth harbor told a friend: "It must be cold out there, I've just seen a penguin." Bright said the friend, realizing it must have been Toga, called the zoo.

More: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/23/MNGFCGCBMO1.DTL&feed=rss.news

Norma · Dec 23, 2005

Maury had Jack Hanna on today, and they had some Jackass penquins. The are warm blodded animals, so they can survive outside of artic weather (I think they said they're from africa??)

I did hear them make a noise, and they do sound like a donkey (hence the name Jackass).

BirdieBoo · Dec 23, 2005

We saw a lot of penguins in Africa, they swim in pretty cold water, though, on the Atlantic side. The water on the Indian Ocean side is warm, though.

I am so sad for this poor baby

Puca · Dec 24, 2005

Click here: Animal Pictures Archive: Animal Photo Album

I am not sure if this will work on this site ore not, but these are "jackass penguins".
Puca

Norma · Dec 27, 2005

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4562694.stm

Penguin zoo refuses to lose hope

Toga is a rare and endangered breed of penguin

A zoo is refusing to give up hope even though the search for a stolen baby penguin has so far proved fruitless.

Meanwhile, parents Oscar and Kyala seem to have moved on and are preparing to lay more eggs, says the zoo.

The couple were showing signs of nesting and had begun 'courting', said manager Kath Bright.

dancingdaisy · Dec 27, 2005

I hope they find Toga and he's safe. I hate to see animals suffer. Who ever took him should be torchered in the worst ways

. It's so sad, poor baby

PaperDoll · Dec 27, 2005

I hope the little penguin is ok and hopefully the person who took him will return him.. I love animals and hate to see them suffer...

Snatched penguin may be Christmas gift

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