Dirk, the penguin, has been safely returned, but not before being hounded by a dog and chased by another animal, possibly a shark。

　　Police allege two young men broke into Sea World on Queensland's Gold Coast on Saturday night, swam in the dolphin enclosure and then stole seven-year-old Dirk as they made their escape。

　　The little bird was found, exhausted but otherwise well, on Sunday after a couple spotted him in a nearby shallow estuary。

　　"They heard a scuffle in the water, and this penguin came out onto the sand," Sea World's director of marine sciences Trevor Long told reporters。

　　"They thought it was very, very unusual, so they got on to their iPhone and googled 'lost penguin'. That came up with the story, and from there they were able to contact us."

　　Long said the couple saw the captive-bred penguin get chased out of the water by another animal - possibly a shark - before it was then herded back in by a dog. Sea World workers eventually came to retrieve him。

　　"Had we not got him it wouldn't have been a good situation at all in the long term for Dirk," Long said。

　　The penguin, who had never been in the wild before and is part of a breeding colony, has since been reunited with his mate Peaches。

　　"These penguins do mate for life and that's why it was so important to get this bird back," Long said。

　　Police have charged three men over the theft after they were tipped off by a member of the public, after the trio reportedly posted about their exploits on Facebook。

　　The three, aged 18, 20 and 21, have been charged with trespassing, stealing and unlawfully keeping a protected animal. They allegedly told police they released Dirk into the Broadwater, a waterway known for its sharks。

　　The penguin, meanwhile, is recovering. "He was extremely dishevelled, he was quite exhausted last night after we did catch him but ... he's settled down well," Long said。

　　【新闻快讯】两名英国男子近日在澳大利亚度假时，喝醉酒后夜闯一处海洋公园，并带走一只企鹅。事后两人并没有联系相关人员，而是将这只企鹅草草放生，这两名男子日前遭到法院判决。

　　这两名年轻男子分别是20岁的科里·缪尔斯(Keri Mules)和21岁的里斯·欧文·琼斯(Rhys Owen Jones)，他们上个月刚在澳大利亚布里斯班度过了一周假期。一天晚上，两人喝下1.5升的伏特加酒后夜闯黄金海岸的海洋世界主题公园，在监控画面上可见两人脱衣下水同海豚一起游泳，拔出了一个灭火器的活塞朝鲨鱼区喷射，最后还掳走一只企鹅。

　　两人告诉法庭，他们第二天酒醒后才知道房间里多了一只企鹅，并试图喂它面包，还给它淋浴洗澡。但两人知道自己做错后，并没有与海洋公园取得联系，而是将这只企鹅在附近一处海滩放生，后来企鹅被人发现并送回海洋公园。英国南港地方法院(Southport Magistrates Court)日前判处两名男子擅自闯入、盗窃和抚养受保护动物的罪名成立，每人须交1000澳元(约合6077.6元人民币)的罚款。