Prison Break, Japanese style
Public broadcaster NHK and all the local news outlets are reporting a daring prison break from Tokyo’s “Big House” aka Kasai Rinkai Aquarium.
Since Sunday morning people have been sighting a lone fugitive penguin swimming in the nearby Old Edo River soaking in the toxic waste and radioactive sludge from the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown*: Freedom Comes with a Heavy Price. (Video in Japanese and Penguinese.)
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Penguin pix via Penh’s photostream on flickr | 
Some rights reserved.
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March 5th, 2012 at 5:29 pm
It’s a lo-o-ong swim home for that little fugitive!
March 5th, 2012 at 9:38 pm
france24.com 2012mar05 Japan Zoo Hunts Escaped Penguin
“…Of course it can’t fly, but sometimes wildlife have an ‘explosive’ power…“
March 5th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Penguin launches ‘Madagascar’-style daring escape from Japanese zoo 
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The Australian | 2012mar-5
…The one-year-old Humboldt Penguin was snapped bathing in the mouth of the Old Edogawa River, which runs into Tokyo Bay, after fleeing its home in the east of the city, echoing the hit animated movie Madagascar.
Takashi Sugino, an official at the Tokyo Sea Life Park, said the 24-inch (60cm) bird appeared to have climbed over a rock wall twice its size and made a waddle for it…
Moar!~
March 8th, 2012 at 12:08 am
Fugitive penguin still running from Tokyo Park
March 07, 2012 | REUTERS
…“There's a man-made rock wall that varies between 1.2 to 4 meters (4 to 13 ft.) high. After somehow climbing over it and getting out, it appears the penguin managed to squeeze through a gap in the outer fence,” Sakamoto said.
Worried that the penguin might have strayed out to sea, keepers issued a Tokyo-wide call for tips on the feathered fugitive and are making regular patrols along the shoreline in front of the aquarium, staring out to sea with binoculars.
Visitors said they were worried about the bird. The area around the aquarium, which sits where the Edo River empties into the bay, consists of high-rise apartment buildings and concrete, with a highway looping overhead.
“The sea water around here is very dirty, so unless the penguin is returned to safety quickly it may die,” said Hiroki Kasai, a university student.
Others felt it may have gone in search of more salubrious living quarters, noting that the penguin enclosure was much more cramped than its natural habitat.
M0Ar!
March 14th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Happy Feet is still on the loose as far as I tell from from GoogleNews.
Go, Happy Feet, go!
More penguin escapes are planned!
April 12th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Go, Happy Feet, go!
Japan keepers stand down penguin hunt
AFP | April 12, 2012
TOKYO–Japanese keepers looking for a penguin on the run in Tokyo have stood down their month-long search but say they hope the bird’s impending adulthood will give it away.
Staff at Tokyo Sea Life Park said Thursday they are no longer combing riverbanks every day looking for any sign of the creature, which fled captivity in early March.
“Although we believe the penguin is doing OK somewhere in a river near Tokyo Bay, we don't know what else to do after nearly a month of searching,” the park’s Takashi Sugino...more…
April 12th, 2012 at 11:08 pm
“BOLO small animal, black suit, white shirt… Shit, that’s everyone in Tokyo!”
May 17th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Japan penguin escapee ’spotted’ in Tokyo Bay
May 18, 2010
A penguin which escaped from Tokyo’s Sea Life Park has reportedly been spotted swimming in waters around the Japanese capital.
The one-year-old Humboldt – which fled its enclosure in March – was caught on video near Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge...more….
May 27th, 2012 at 10:47 am
“@Shogannai: Japan’s AWOL penguin back in captivity; Police report that bird has confessed to the Tepco meltdown and Olympus embezzlement.
May 29th, 2012 at 3:55 am
Japan’s runaway penguin suffering from pink-eye
May 28, 2012 | http://phys.org
The Humboldt penguin after it was recaptured and taken back to Tokyo Sea Life Park. The penguin, which was recaptured last week after nearly three months at large in the polluted waters of Tokyo Bay, has conjunctivitis, an aquarium official said
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A government official told AFP water quality in Tokyo Bay has improved in recent years, but pollution by organic substances sometimes breaches Japanese environmental standards.…more…