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Man in court after drunkenly kidnapping Australian echidna

Xinhua, August 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

A man faced court on Tuesday on Queensland's Gold Coast after stealing a rare breeding echidna from a wildlife sanctuary.

The lawyer for Jarrod Ronald Simmons, 24, said his client was drunk and could not clearly remember the events which saw him break into the sanctuary with a friend and steal the spike-covered ant-eating female echidna named Piggie from her nest.

The story made national headlines, and late on Monday a contrite Simmons dumped Piggie outside the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

He later led zoo staff to where she had burrowed under a tree trunk, which the egg laying mammals traditionally do in the wild.

Wildlife officer Michael Pyne was relieved to have Piggie back.

"She's clearly stiff and sore, just bruised and a bit knocked around but no major problems," he told the Australian Associated Press.

"We've already done a full series of X-rays, ultrasounds and collected blood and there's no serious injuries.

"She's just been knocked around a lot and she's very sore and sorry for herself."

Simmons was denied bail and will re-appear in court on Wednesday. Endi