A horn torn off a stuffed rhinoceros head in a daring afternoon robbery has been returned to its home in a Belgian museum and the thieves arrested, the Belga news agency said Friday.

Guards in the Liege natural science museum were alerted to the robbery by a weird noise a little before closing time Thursday.

The robber, who had torn off the head of the stuffed rhino and pulled away a horn, made off to a waiting vehicle with Dutch number-plates after tear-gassing the guards.

Police threw up roadblocks and brought in the pair, both Poles.

Rhinos are often poached for their horns, made of keratin and sold on the black market for ornamental or medicinal purposes, particularly in Asia.

The two African species and the Sumatran rhinoceros have two horns, while the Indian and Javan rhinoceros have a single horn