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Missing Mango Mystery Solved, Here Are The Juicy Details

The Big Mango in Bowen, Australia, seen here in 2011.
Jack Zalium/NPR
The Big Mango in Bowen, Australia, seen here in 2011.

Just as some suspected, a 33-foot-tall mango statue that disappeared from its place of honor on Monday in Australia wasn't stolen by some dastardly devils who hope to squeeze some ill-gotten gains from the fruits of their licentious labors.

No, it seems that the Nando's chain of chicken restaurants lifted the tropical delight from its perch in the town of Bowen. The company has posted video of the snatch here.

On its Facebook page, Nando's says more about the publicity stunt will be revealed on Friday.

We weren't the only folks to post about the missing mango on Monday. The Guardian notes that "news of the 'theft' of the big mango hit international headlines, aided by CCTV footage, photos and media releases sent out by the Bowen center staff."

The Big Mango, as we said earlier, "became a tourist attraction after it was erected 12 years ago to commemorate the 'Kensington Pride' mango that's grown in Bowen, which bills itself as the mango capital of Australia. The gargantuan fruit cost $90,000 when it was built."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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