London ? Call it “Theft of the Penguin.”

A 3-month-old jackass penguin believed stolen is unlikely to survive outside its habitat until Christmas Day, officials said Tuesday.

Toga the penguin was taken Saturday from a compound where he lived with his parents at the Amazon World on the Isle of Wight in southern England.

Zoo manager Kath Bright said the baby bird will not take food by hand and was still being fed by its parents. She said Toga probably would die of malnutrition if not returned soon.

“We can’t understand what may have been going through the thief’s head, but we are worried someone decided a penguin would make the perfect Christmas gift,” she added.

“There has been a lot of attention because of the film ‘March of the Penguins.’ Perhaps someone saw the film and thought their wife or girlfriend would be thrilled to have one as a present.”