Drunk men steal penguin from Sea World, swim with dolphins - watch

Published Apr 22 2012, 17:16 BST  |  By Colin Daniels

Three drunk men broke into an Australian Sea World, swam with dolphins and stole a penguin last weekend.

The Brits claim they had no memory of the incident when they woke up hungover the next day to discover a 7-year-old Fairy Penguin named Dirk in their Surfers' Paradise apartment.

Police say the men unlawfully entered the park last Saturday night by evading security, before taking a semi-nude swim inside the dolphin tank and kidnapping Dirk from the penguin enclosure.



They panicked the following morning and ditched the bird in a nearby canal, where he was spotted after being chased out of the water, possibly by a predator.

Officers found the men after one of them bragged about the incident on Facebook, the Daily Mail reports.

Dirk was frightened but unharmed and was returned to his mate Peaches at Sea World.

"Still a bit fuzzy about the whole thing but on behalf of the three of us we are very sorry and it was just a prank which went way too far," one of the men, Rhys Jones, told 7News.

The trio, who released the video to prove they meant no harm, have been charged with trespassing and stealing a protected animal and are due in court on May 2.

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