A Berlin animal shelter has had an unusual charge in its care since yesterday. Gudrun, a 20-centimeter large beach crab, who was discovered in a garden in a Berlin neighbourhood.

Nobody seems sure how the crustacean managed to stray so far away from its natural mudflat surroundings on the North and Baltic coast. "It was probably some joker who brought the creature from the sea and then just abandoned it," said a spokeswoman at the animal shelter on Friday.

The person who discovered Gudrun first tried to take her to a Berlin zoo and then an aquarium. But after both places refused to take in the crab, it was finally handed over to the Berlin police, who ensured that the animal shelter accepted it.

The animal shelter's helpless staff then frantically called experts for tips on what to feed the unusual invertebrate and how to make it feel at home.

The undemanding visitor now lives in a plastic tub filled with sand, silt and water. Gudrun's diet involves finely chopped dog food and greens.

But the animal shelter is aware that the crab can't be kept in the artificial surroundings forever and is calling upon interested persons to return the creature to its home over the weekend.