Penguins at the zoo before the crime (Picture: Luisenpark Zoo)

A penguin ‘stolen’ from its enclosure could die if it is not returned soon, zookeepers have warned.

The Humboldt penguin was reported missing on Saturday after staff at the zoo did a routine count of the birds to check they were all safe.

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One of them wasn’t there, sparking a search of the grounds of Luisenpark zoo in Mannheim, southwest Germany, to see if it had somehow managed to get out.

The search did not return any signs that the penguin had escaped, and keepers said it would be unlikely to have gone far from its home on its own.




They concluded that someone must have stolen it from its enclosure.

WIR HABEN NACHWUCHS Das kleine Humboldtpinguinküken ist schon munter und darf nun in den Jungtierraum schwimmen üben…. Geplaatst door Luisenpark Mannheim op Dinsdag 9 juni 2015

If it isn’t returned soon, keepers said that without its special diet and controlled environment it will not survive.

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They pleaded for whoever took it to bring it back – and police have launched an appeal to find the culprit and rescue the bird.

Officers designed a poster with an image of a penguin saying they were searching for witnesses to the crime.

It has a microchip and a number 53 on its wing to help identify it. It is around 50 cm tall and weighs 5kg.

The zoo has raised many of its penguins from babies, and posted a photo previously of one of their chicks in the ‘infant room’ during swim practice.

Humbolt penguins are native to South America, along the coast of Chile and Peru, and they are suited to warmer temperatures than their Antarctic cousins.