Fugitive penguin nabbed in Tokyo miles from zoo - The one-year-old Humboldt penguin escaped two month ago

By Nina Mandell / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, May 25, 2012

This handout picture taken and released by Tokyo Sea Life Park on May 25, 2012 shows a rescued penguin after it was recaptured, which had escaped from the park on March 4 in Tokyo. The Humboldt penguin on the run from the Tokyo aquarium since early March -- which even outwitted the coastguard in its determined bid for freedom -- was recaptured alive and well. Two of the park's keepers caught the penguin in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, about eight kilometres (five miles) from its home, under a bridge over the Edo river after a tip-off call. AFP PHOTO / TOKYO SEA LIFE PARK ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / TOKYO SEA LIFE PARK" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSTOKYO SEA LIFE PARK/AFP/GettyImages

Tokyo Sea Life Park/AFP/Getty Images

This picture released by Tokyo Sea Life Park shows a rescued penguin after it was recaptured, which had escaped from the park on March 4 in Tokyo.

One of Japan’s most wanted fugitives has been nabbed.
Two months after escaping from an aquarium in Tokyo, a penguin known as Number 337 was caught late Thursday night, The BBC reported.

The Humboldt penguin had been spotted this month within miles of the Tokyo Sea Life Park but officials hadn’t been able to capture it.
But on Thursday evening, two divers reportedly went into the river after sighting the wanted fugitive and secured it.
“It hasn’t lost weight,” a Tokyo Sea Life Park spokeswoman told the BBC. “It hasn’t got fatter either, but its health seems good.”

The one-year-old penguin is one of 135 penguins at the park, according to the report.
In the day following the penguin’s escape in March, the park received hundreds of tips from people claiming they had seen Number 337, Reuters reported this month.
Only 30 tips, according to the report, were thought to be genuine. Finally, the penguin was identified by its flipper and facial patterns.
Within days, officials zoomed in on it and were able to capture it.

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Recaptured penguin gets pink eye

The Yomiuri Shimbun

(May. 27, 2012)

The runaway penguin recaptured Thursday after 82 days on the lam has developed the eye infection conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, according to a veterinarian who examined the bird.

The 1-year-old Humboldt penguin escaped from Tokyo Sea Life Park (Kasai Rinkai Suizoku-en), run by the Tokyo metropolitan government. It was spotted swimming near Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo Bay and other locations before it was recaptured.

The park's penguin pool uses seawater from Tokyo Bay that has been filtered and sterilized. A park official speculated the bird's eye problem was caused by bad water quality in Tokyo Bay.

Water quality in the bay has gradually improved in recent years. However, its chemical oxygen demand (COD), a reference index of water quality, exceeds the environmental standard at four out of eight marine areas where the metropolitan government conducts regular research.

The park plans to treat the penguin with eyedrops for a few days and continue to quarantine it in a spare breeding room.

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