Japan's AWOL penguin back in captivity

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http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20120525-348370.html

A penguin on the run from a Tokyo aquarium since early March was adjusting to life back on the inside Friday after being recaptured on a riverbank.

The Humboldt penguin, one of 135 kept at Tokyo Sea Life Park, was recaptured after 82 days of freedom that had even seen it outwit Japan's well-resourced coastguard.

The bird's last moments of liberty were lived on a riverbank just eight kilometres (five miles) from its home, said aquarium spokesman Takashi Sugino.

Prompted by a stream of sighting reports, staff rushed to the Edo-gawa river, where the young bird was idling away a balmy Thursday afternoon, seemingly unaware that its adventure was coming to an end.

As its captors approached, the creature dived into the water and emerged onto the opposite river bank about an hour later.

Undeterred, aquarium staff tried again, this time approaching the startled bird slowly - taking some 20 minutes to close in the final five meters (16 feet) - before jumping on it.

The one-year-old bird, known only as Penguin No. 337 and not yet old enough to display physical sexual features, rushed into the water in surprise, but was subdued and taken back into custody.

In a bid to curtail any future breakouts, the facility has now put additional rocks and sandbags around the edges of the penguin enclosure.