Rob and Val Kyle woke yesterday morning to discover their quirky garden gorilla had disappeared into the Maraekakaho mist. Apparently, using guerilla tactics, thieves had stolen the ape from their front gate in the early hours of Thursday morning. "How anyone could have lifted him, I just don't know," Mrs Kyle said.The solid concrete ornament weighed 200-250kg - oddly enough, the same weight of a real adult male gorilla. "It originally took four grown men to heave him up there," Mr Kyle said. "It's such a shame." For close to five years, motorists and young travellers had jumped the fence to embrace the ape for a photograph. "Locals hassle us if we don't dress him as Santa early enough for Christmas." But this morning, less than 24-hours after the abduction - the silverback was back. A guilty conscience had got the better of one local teenager, who confessed he and a group of seven other primate pilferers had managed to lift the landmark Maraekakaho garden ornament and throw it in the back of a van. He was returned to his perch yesterday evening with only minor damage. "I'm chuffed he's back," said Mr Kyle, who said the two wouldn't press charges. "They've apologised, and they're coming back to repair some of the damage so we're happy." Yesterday, Mrs Kyle was reluctant to disclose the ape's name, except to say their grandchildren had named it after an uncle, who they thought bore a strange resemblance. In a happier mood today, Mr Kyle wasn't as cautious. Apparently "Uncle Keith" would have to lump it. * Four days before the ape's theft, a fellow Maraekakaho resident had her donkey sculpture stolen from her front yard. On September 10, two Napier residents also fell victim, after a concrete seal and highly-prized statue of a woman, each weighing more than 100kg, were stolen from residential addresses. Napier police said the offences were a sign there were "no limits" to what people would steal from other's gardens.
