A nearly two-metre great white shark that washed up on a popular Sydney beach has been returned to the ocean.
The juvenile animal, nicknamed ‘Fluffy’, was found thrashing on the shore of Manly beach on Monday, before being taken to a nearby ocean pool to rest.
After spending the night at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary Aquarium it was taken back to the wild, with footage capturing the heartwarming moment of its release.
A nearly two-metre great white shark (pictured) that washed up on a popular Sydney beach has been returned to the ocean
The shark was placed back in the ocean about four kilometres of Sydney’s coast around 2.30pm.
Video shows a diver steadying the animal in the water before it swam off, appearing in healthy condition.
Experts said they were optimistic about its survival, after the team of aquarists took the animal to deep water to help prevent a second stranding.
‘From the condition he was first found in, flopping around… to even just a few hours later… it’s an indication whatever caused him to end up on the rocks is something he can deal with,’ the sanctuary’s life sciences manager Rob Townsend said.
Mr Townsend said it was unusual to see sharks wash up and that this case was ‘certainly unique’.
‘It was truly a privilege to work with this species and it is always great to be able to release an animal like this back to the wild and to see the amount of public support he had,’ he said.
The juvenile animal, nicknamed ‘Fluffy’, was found thrashing on the shore of Manly beach on Monday, but was rescued by Marine experts from manly Sea Life Sanctuary (pictured here on the shark’s return)
The animal spent the night at a Sydney aquarium before it was taken back to the wild, with footage capturing the heartwarming moment of its release
‘Fluffy’ made international headlines after he was found in shallow water with what appeared to be superficial injuries.
The shark was then transferred on a stretcher to a rock pool as hundreds of shocked onlookers gathered to get a glimpse.
He was later taken to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary and was monitored in an isolation tank overnight, with experts calling the rescue mission difficult.
‘We had lots of divers in the tank last night making sure he didn’t bump into the walls,’ Mr Townsend said.
Mr Townsend shed light on how Fluffy got his unusual nickname, saying it helped ‘combat the bad image of sharks’.
‘It was something I just kind of said off the top of my head to some kids at the pool and too many people heard it,’ he joked.
The shark (pictured at a rock pool Monday) was placed back in the ocean about four kilometres of Sydney’s coast around 2.30pm Tuesday, appearing in healthy condition
Experts said they were optimistic about its survival, after it had rested in a rock pool (pictured) and overnight at an aquarium, before being taken to deep water to help prevent a second stranding
Robbie McCracken, a senior aquarist at Manly Sea Life had earlier said the animal was better suited to recover in its natural environment.
‘We are hoping that it sort of mistakenly found its way into an area and got a bit tired and exhausted and then stressed with the waves and all the people around it,’ he told Nine Network.
He also said that it was a mystery as to why the shark had beached itself, stating they normally keep to ‘deeper more unrestricted waters’
Dramatic video emerged Monday afternoon showing Fluffy flailing about on the shore of the busy beach, with onlookers commenting on social media.
‘Literally about to take my boys for a swim,’ one witness captioned a video posted on social media.
While another added: ‘Shark in Manly bower pool right now. Just washed up on Manly beach. Beautiful to see such a gorgeous animal.’
Life sciences manager Rob Townsend said the rescue had been difficult but ‘a privilege’, noting the large amount of public support the animal had received
The 1.8 metre juvenile shark (pictured) got its unusual nickname after Mr Townsend had said it to some children and it stuck