A fugitive penguin in Japan is back in captivity more than two months after it slipped out of an aquarium in Tokyo.
First, there was a daring breakout up a sheer rock wall and through a barbed wire fence. Then there were weeks on the run, in which the fugitive eluded capture and at times appeared to taunt his pursuers with carefree frolics in the sea.
However, two keepers picked up the Humboldt penguin yesterday evening after receiving reports that it had been seen swimming in a river earlier the same day day. The capture brought to an end 82 days of freedom, during which it briefly achieved celebrity status around the world.
The keepers, who seized the penguin after it ventured on to the riverbank, said the animal did not appear to have been harmed and had been eating enough to keep its weight stable.
Officials at the sea park had feared that the animal – known simply as Penguin 337 – would struggle to survive outside the aquarium's confines. But their fears proved unfounded after it was filmed swimming in Tokyo Bay, apparently content in its unfamiliar surroundings.
The park's deputy director, Kazuhiro Sakamoto, said at the time that the penguin "looks like it's been living quite happily in the middle of Tokyo Bay".
An angler who regularly fishes in the area believed that the 60cm penguin was taking advantage of the ample food supply in such a large stretch of water. "For a penguin, its eat all you want," he said.
The aquarium has received 30 confirmed sightings since the penguin disappeared in early March, as well as hundreds of speculative sightings from as far away as western Japan. Keepers were dispatched on daily searches throughout the Tokyo Bay area.
The penguin is thought to have been startled into jumping over a rock twice its height before slipping through a gap in a two-metre fence surrounding Tokyo Sea Life Park. It was captured more than 8km away.
After realising that the penguin – one of 135 at the park – had vanished, officials launched a citywide appeal to help find it. It was spotted near estuaries feeding Tokyo Bay, and at one point eluded capture after being pursued by the Japanese coastguard.
Sadly, the national obsession with choosing nicknames for celebrity animals foundered on the penguin's age - at one-year-old it is still too young to determine whether it's male or female.
"We are relieved to see the penguin come back alive," Mr Sakamoto told the Kyodo news agency.
Guardian Service