Penguin Theft
Toga was an African Penguin who was stolen from the zoo. Toga was the first South African Jackass Penguin bred at the zoo.
On 19 December 2005, burglars stole Toga. It is supposed that the thieves scaled a 6-foot (1.8 m) outer wall before climbing over an 8-foot (2.4 m) metal fence. Katherine Bright, manager at Amazon World, said: "Toga was last seen at 4.30pm on Saturday."
As the penguin refuses food from humans it is unlikely to survive more than a few days away from its parents. The zoo initially offered a reward of £1,000, which was swelled by additional offers of money from around the world (including $600 from America). Zoo staff speculated that the film March of the Penguins may have inspired the crime. By Thursday, hopes of finding Toga alive were fading. There was also a caller to the morning television programme GMTV claiming to have dumped the body of Toga in Portsmouth Harbour.
Despite the unlikelihood of success on 27 December, the zoo continued to search for the missing penguin. By 17 January 2006, the zoo staff had given up all hope of ever finding the whereabouts of Toga.
Toga's parents Kyala and Oscar produced two more eggs early 2006 after recovering from the loss of their first born. On 14 February 2006 one of the penguin keepers arrived at the Amazon World office with the news that one of the two eggs had hatched. The other egg did not hatch and was later found to be infertile.
The currently unnamed penguin will have its sex determined when it has become comfortable with its surroundings by way of DNA testing on two feather samples. Due to the size of the penguin the zoo staff believe it to be female. In the UK the newspaper group, Daily Mail are holding a competition to name the new addition to the penguin enclosure.
Read more about this topic: Amazon World Zoo
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