Stolen penguin's parents lay egg

Toga was stolen from Amazon World zoo on 17 December

The parents of a baby penguin that was stolen from a zoo just before Christmas have produced a new egg.

Toga, a three-month-old jackass penguin, has not been found despite a £25,000 reward after being stolen from Amazon World on the Isle of Wight.

Meanwhile, his parents, Kyala and Oscar, have laid a new egg.

"They went through a stressful time when we lost Toga. Kyala was absolutely stressed for the first two weeks," said zoo owner Derek Curtis.

Lost hope

"Then they started to beak tap and then they started carrying nesting material which we were quite happy about.

"She (Kyala) laid the egg on Thursday last week and within 40 days we should have another Toga in our life.

"That's what we are really excited about."

Mr Curtis said he had given up any hope of Toga, who was taken on 17 December, being returned alive to the zoo.

"It was a baby bird covered in down. It had never seen a fish. It had been fed on regurgitated food by its parents so it didn't really have a chance," he said.

Mr Curtis said police believed someone had stolen Toga as a Christmas gift.