A statue of an orange mouse with no name and no lines that is probably the most famous character ever to appear on WDR television in Germany disappeared from outside the broadcaster's Cologne offices on Tuesday. 

Although a sign left in the statue's place suggested no harm was intended and that the mouse would soon return, the director general of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) said the station had not been consulted at all in the apparent "kidnapping." 

'Dear friends, I must do something important' 

The depiction of the animal from the long-running children's show "Die Sendung mit der Maus" ("The Show with the Mouse") was replaced by a sign claiming to be written by the figure. 

"Dear friends, I must do something important. Therefore, I am going on a small journey," a sign posted in the statue's place on a new Instagram account called "Die Reise mit der Maus" ("The Journey with the Mouse") said. 

"But do not worry! I am well and in a few days I will be back safe and sound. See you soon, your mouse."

An attached video on that account shows the mouse at a vineyard with accompanying narrator audio saying it was worried about its friends at other public broadcasters.

WDR said in its reporting on the disappearance that the reference could have referred to planned budget cuts affecting other public broadcasters in Germany, such as a plan to cut culture-based TV channel Sat3 that's meeting stiff resistance.

Broadcaster urges rodent's return

WDR's director of programming Jörg Schönenborm said that even if the stunt proved well meaning as promised it was still inappropriate and done without WDR's knowledge. 

"Perhaps it is supposed to be funny, but I believe that not all kids who are fans of the mouse will find it funny," Schönenborm said. "We do have a sense of humor. If the whole thing is meant to be a joke, we hope for a good punchline."

"But in all seriousness, the mouse belongs to our audience and it is not OK to kidnap it — regardless of what you plan to do with it," Schönenborm said.

WDR said in a statement that even if the culprits were trying to help German public broadcasters as they said, the mouse could not be used for political campaigns. 

On air every Sunday since 1971

The children's show "Die Sendung mit der Maus" has been on WDR on Sunday mornings since 1971. 

The show has various educational and entertainment elements and has had an array of presenters over the years, but the animated shorts featuring the mouse that separate the segments are probably the best known parts. 

These short segments of perhaps 30 seconds of 2D animation never involve the mouse, or its accomplices the duck and the elephant who joined later, speaking. 

Typically they interact and try to solve some kind of problem, often seeking a reward, by experimentation and trial and error.

There are several displays and statues of the mouse at various sites in western Germany, including a bronze statue made by the figure's creator Isolde Schmitt-Menzel in her hometown Bad Homburg.

msh/jsi (dpa, epd)