MANNHEIM, GERMANY — A Humboldt penguin abducted from a zoo on Saturday has been found dead, German police say.
The bird’s body was discovered near a parking lot and was identified by the number 53 on its wing, the BBC reported.
“A witness had spotted the dead penguin at a fence alongside a parking lot at 8:30 this morning,” Mannheim police spokesman Michael Klump told NBC News.
Some German press reports say the penguin was decapitated, according to the BBC.
The penguin went missing on Saturday from its enclosure in Luisenpark, a city park in Mannheim that has attractions for children.
Park officials asked for the public’s help to find the bird after it was discovered missing.
The penguin’s remains are being examined at a veterinary hospital, police said.
The prosecutor’s office in Mannheim has launched an investigation to find the culprit.
Humboldt penguins are found on the Pacific coast of South America and the offshore islands of Peru and Chile.