Edinburgh Zoo's oldest penguin, Mrs Wolowitz, killed by fox

Edinburgh Zoo has announced that its oldest penguin has died after being attacked by a fox. Mrs Wolowitz, the 35-year-old penguin, was killed after the fox broke into her enclosure on Wednesday night. According to the zookeepers, other penguins in the enclosure were not hurt and were doing well.

Born in the year 1987, she was one of the oldest-known penguins in the UK and the oldest one at Edinburgh Zoo.

In a tweet on Thursday night, the zoo said: “Sadly, we lost her last night after a fox broke into our penguin enclosure. Thankfully, the rest of our colony are unharmed and are doing well.

“Her massive personality will be missed.”

Mrs Wolowitz produced her only offspring, Mr Green, in 1991 when she was four years old.

She was one of several Northern Rockhopper penguins at the zoo.

They are an endangered species, threatened due to climate change, changes in marine ecosystems and overfishing.

Edinburgh Zoo's Penguin Rock is Europe's largest outdoor penguin pool. The zoo also has King and Gentoo penguins.

Zookeepers checked enclosures daily but there was always a risk of break-ins by wild animals. The zoo said it would look at what more it could do to protect the animals in the enclosure from future attacks.