British tourists break into theme park to steal penguin

[bostonlva]

Three British tourists have been accused of stealing a penguin from Sea World on Queensland's Gold Coast after a drunken night out.

 

The Daily Mail reports that three Welsh men, aged 18, 20 and 21, will appear in court on May 2 after allegedly breaking into the Australian marine park, stripping off to their underwear to swim with dolphins and stealing a fairy penguin.

 

The seven-year-old penguin called Dirk (pictured), was part of captive-bred breeding colony.

 

The men woke up the next morning to find Dirk in their accommodation and are reported to have released him into a canal.

 

He was found by a couple in an estuary the day after he was stolen. They said they saw Dirk chased out of the water, possibly by a shark, before being chased back in by a dog. He was later rescued by Sea World Staff and reunited with his mate, Peaches.

 

Sea World's director of marine sciences said: "They heard a scuffle in the water, and this penguin came out onto the sand. 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."

 

The three men were apparently caught by police after posting details of the incident on Facebook.

 

They have been charged with trespassing, stealing and unlawfully keeping a protected animal.

 

One of the men is reported as saying: "We're really sorry for all the trouble we've caused."

 

 

http://travel.aol.co.uk/2012/04/22/british-tourists-accused-of-stealing-dirk-the-penguin-from-Sea-World/

Edited April 24, 2012 by bostonlva

[TXman308]

Glad to see the penguin is alright. Nice job Facebook, you've served us again.

[beatle11]

The three men were apparently caught by police after posting details of the incident on Facebook.

 

*Facepalm*

 

My first thought when I saw the post in the forum was that it was like a decorative penguin, or like a statue. At least they probably woke up with a penguin in the bathroom rather than a tiger.

 

[scbt]

Sounds like these fellows had quite a bit too much to drink. Also, did they happen to lose a friend on the roof? XD

[bostonlva]

Sounds like these fellows had quite a bit too much to drink. Also, did they happen to lose a friend on the roof? XD

Good one!

[Meteornotes]

He was found by a couple in an estuary the day after he was stolen. They said they saw Dirk chased out of the water, possibly by a shark, before being chased back in by a dog. He was later rescued by Sea World Staff and reunited with his mate, Peaches.

 

This sounds like a movie waiting to be made.

 

dt

[SharkTums]

When I saw this story a few days ago on the Today Show, they kind of implied that this may all be a big ploy to get famous as they actually sold the footage of them with the dolphins and penguin to various outlets.

 

Really terrible humans.

[cfc]

^Yep--it's "fifteen minutes of fame time," folks.

[gisco]

Three British tourists ........

That explains a lot!

[cfc]

^Yes, Aussies may be crazy enough to hunt crocs, but they would never mess with a penguin.

[BeemerBoy]

Each night, aquariums and marine parks should re-label their shark and dolphin/penguin/etc. tanks during the overnight hours. Problem solved.

[RCT3Bross]

The first thing I thought was: What the f*** did I just read? Then I thought: What in the world do you want a Penguin for?

Then I read:

Three British tourists have been accused of stealing a penguin from Sea World on Queensland's Gold Coast after a drunken night out.

That explained the whole situation for me.

Good that everything is okay now and the penguin is alright. It wasn't that smart for the guys to post details on Facebook but it made the work for the police very easy, so they still get some punishment even if they where drunk.

[larrygator]

Three British tourists ........

That explains a lot!

 

 

after a drunken night out.

and here's the real SHOCKER!

[Hercules]

I thought Brits were supposed to be able to hold their liquer?

[Wes]

Look, who hasn't gotten a little tipsy and stolen an animal.

[cfc]

I think I detect the plot of the next Madagascar Penguins short--drunken tourists kidnap a penguin, only to be wiped out by a penguin commando raid.

[TPDave]

I think something similar has happened at Chessington in the past. Must be a british thing.

 

Dave

[Hercules]

^ Kind of suspicious that you would have knowledge of such an occurance???

[SharkTums]

^What do you think TP Stands for? Theft of Penguins!!!!!

[cfc]

Hmm--come to think of it, TPDave does bear a bit of a resemblance to . . .

 

Quack, quack, quack!

[djrappa]

Whilst it was a very stupid thing to do, especially jumping in a dolphin pool, and we were very glad to get the penguin back...

It will make for a hell of a story when these guys are like 50!!!