Plucky penguin finds herself in the lions' den

African penguins at Münster Zoo.
Photo by Lilia Efimova.
Some rights reserved.

GERMANY - The youngest African penguin at Münster Zoo took advantage of the icy conditions on New Year's Day and found her way out of her enclosure ... and into the lion's den!

After strolling around the zoo, the adventurous 3-month-old was spotted by a visitor wandering along the ice-covered moat beside the lion house.

"Luckily the family of lions didn't pose a threat because they were dozing in the warmth of their house," said the zoo. The real danger was the penguin panicking and slipping under the ice, as the moat was only partially frozen.

Zoo keeper Steffi Klann managed to lure the penguin out of the moat the next day with a trail of herrings. She is now safely back with the other penguins.

Münster Zoo usually refers to the penguins by number, but in honour of her adventure no. 459 has been appropriately named Leona.

Sources
Escaped penguin ends up in lion enclosure, 3 January 2011, Spiegel Online
'Leona' im Löwengraben: Ein kleiner Pinguin auf großer Tour im Zoo, 3 January 2011, Münster Zoo