A horn shark has been recovered in Texas after being smuggled out of an aquarium in a pram.

The incident happened at San Antonio Aquarium on Saturday, with the 16-inch shark taken from an interactive 'touch pool'.

CCTV footage shared on social media showed the shark apparently being bundled up and disguised as a baby.

According to the aquarium, the shark was placed into a bucket - with those responsible said to have spent an hour 'staking out' the pool before grabbing the shark.

The alarm was raised after a staff member reported 'suspicious activity'.

Suspects were approached by aquarium staff in the car park, but one is said to have made off with the shark in a truck.

Image: San Antonio Aquarium 

After a public appeal for help in tracking down the missing shark, the aquarium confirmed on Monday that it had been recovered.

Speaking yesterday, local police chief Joseph Salvaggio explained: "We tracked the vehicle down, and were able to recover the vehicle... Once we put it out into the media, we started getting a lot of calls from viewers, and they pointed us right back to a house that was located close to where we recovered the vehicle.

"We got confessions from two of the individuals who were seen on the tape. We will be talking tomorrow to the third."

He added that one of the suspects is said to have had other fish and sharks in his home, and "knew what he was doing... luckily for the shark".

The suspect is also believed to have had a similar shark in the past.

Two men are expected to face theft charges, police said, but no decision had yet been made on whether a woman due to be questioned would also face charges.

The aquarium said the shark was 'alive and well' following the incident, with staff working to prepare it for its return back into the water.