Japanese zookeepers who lost 30 squirrels after a typhoon damaged their enclosure said on their recovery efforts had exceeded expectations with 39 animals recovered.
By Friday, 39 squirrels were back in captivity, after 30 were initially reported missing.
Tokyo's Inokashira Park Zoo originally said the bushy-tailed rodents had made a break for it when a typhoon brought a tree down on their enclosure.
A week later keepers announced they had recaptured 38 animals and were continuing to receive up to five sightings a day, prompting speculation that wild squirrels were among their number.
But on Friday, zoo official Hiroshi Mashima said it was likely the number of runaway rodents had been higher than originally thought.
"We say more than 40 squirrels must have gotten away in the first place," said Mashima, a zoo educator specialising in animal biology. "There are no wild squirrels inhabiting this area. That is for sure."
Mashima said it was not possible to be precise because detailed records of the number of squirrels kept in the enclosure were not available.
The zoo does not know exactly how many squirrels it has "because they are difficult to catch and they keep reproducing", he said. – AFP