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。

　　【新聞快訊】兩名英國男子近日在澳大利亞度假時，喝醉酒后夜闖一處海洋公園，并帶走一只企鵝。事后兩人并沒有聯系相關人員，而是將這只企鵝草草放生，這兩名男子日前遭到法院判決。

　　這兩名年輕男子分別是20歲的科里·繆爾斯(Keri Mules)和21歲的里斯·歐文·瓊斯(Rhys Owen Jones)，他們上個月剛在澳大利亞布里斯班度過了一周假期。一天晚上，兩人喝下1.5升的伏特加酒后夜闖黃金海岸的海洋世界主題公園，在監控畫面上可見兩人脫衣下水同海豚一起游泳，拔出了一個滅火器的活塞朝鯊魚區噴射，最后還擄走一只企鵝。

　　兩人告訴法庭，他們第二天酒醒后才知道房間里多了一只企鵝，并試圖喂它面包，還給它淋浴洗澡。但兩人知道自己做錯后，并沒有與海洋公園取得聯系，而是將這只企鵝在附近一處海灘放生，后來企鵝被人發現并送回海洋公園。英國南港地方法院(Southport Magistrates Court)日前判處兩名男子擅自闖入、盜竊和撫養受保護動物的罪名成立，每人須交1000澳元(約合6077.6元人民幣)的罰款。