"OTO The Lion is not going to sleep tonight. He has gone missing from under the big Kiwi. if you see him please return him to Otorohanga District Council or any shop on Main Street. OTO The Lion is helping to welcome Visitors to Otorohanga for the Lions Tour. We really need him back," they posted.
However, this afternoon, council spokesman Day Dowd said they'd just received an anonymous tip-off that Oto had been seen in a car in Thames.
"An anonymous phone call came through, 'your lion has been seen in Thames' and they hung up," he said.
Dowd said they had suspicions that the thief was more than a likely a Lions supporter as Otorohanga was too small a town for a local to get away with such daylight robbery.
"You can't mistake him. He is a very big lion."
Another reason in thinking a tourist has carried out the dastardly deed is that the big Kiwi's All Blacks' jersey was left behind. They clearly weren't fans, he said.
Oto had been strategically placed at the bottom of the big Kiwi's beak - perhaps as a sign of submission to the All Blacks' flag draped bird.
It still remains unclear if Oto was mistaken for lost property or stolen by someone mesmerised by his fluffy charisma.
