PIGGIE, the echidna stolen from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary by masked thieves at the weekend, has been mysteriously returned.

Police say the four-year-old female ant-eater was returned unharmed, apparently slipped back under the sanctuary fence.

A 24-year-old man is being inteviewed by police, and his alleged accomplice is still being sought.

The pair face being charged with stealing and wildlife offences.

Earlier, a wildlife vet warned thieves they had stolen a “spiky, stinky animal” that could rip a home apart and made an awful pet.

media_camera One of the people involved in stealing the echidna had a distinctive tattoo.

Sanctuary head vet Dr Michael Pyne said the theft was ‘very bizarre’ as echidnas made terrible pets and there was no black market for them.

WILDLIFE THEFT: Echidna snatched in night raid

He said the theft was all the more bizarre as the echidna enclosure was protected by about 20 CCTV cameras.

“It’s not like people want them as pets - they’re spiky, stinky and are terrible to have around the house as they can rip the place apart,” he said.

“They’re incredibly strong and can tear up carpets and rip off skirting boards.

“I’m hoping it (the theft) was just a crazy dare and the thieves will return Piggie as soon as possible.”

Dr Pyne said echidnas were “incredibly difficult” to look after and “very sensitive” to heat, cold and disease.

Piggie had just awoken from a two-week ‘torpor’ or hibernation and would be hungry for a feed of termites, he said.

“If we can get her back within three days, she should be OK but otherwise there is a real risk she could die,” he said before her mysterious appearance back at the sanctuary Monday night.