Two nude sunbathers who ran into a forest after being "startled" by a deer have been fined for breaching Sydney's coronavirus lockdown, Australian police said Monday.

Police said the men had been sunbathing on a remote beach before they fled into the forest to escape the animal at the Royal National Park — a 15,000-hectare (37,000-acre) coastal stretch just south of Sydney that is home to at least one nudist beach.

The men called for help about at 6 p.m. local time on Sunday after they "got lost," New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller told reporters. Emergency services launched a ground and air search.

A 30-year-old man "naked and carrying a backpack" was found on a walking path first before a partially clothed 49-year-old was discovered later.

Police: 'Idiots who should be embarrassed'

"It's difficult to legislate against idiots," Fuller said. "But clearly putting people at risk by leaving home without a proper reason ... and then getting lost in the national park and diverting important resources away from the health operation, I think they should be embarrassed."

The two men were each fined 1,000 Australian dollars ($760 or €646) for breaking stay-at-home orders by traveling outside Sydney, which is currently in a strict lockdown to curb a recent COVID-19 outbreak. The state capital began a two-week lockdown on Friday due to the cluster of infections.

They were among more than 40 people fined for breaching pandemic rules across New South Wales state on Sunday, police said.

Australians not alone in baring all

In August last year, a nude sunbather was filmed chasing a wild boar who had stolen his bag containing a laptop while he was relaxing at a Berlin lake.

In a video that went viral, the man was seen running after the boar at the Teufelssee, a popular spot for nude sunbathing.

The owner of the bag eventually retrieved his goods, to the applause of onlookers.

jsi/rt (AP, AFP, Reuters)