A juvenile great white shark which forced swimmers to flee the water at a popular Sydney beach is set to be returned to the wild.
The two-metre shark, nicknamed ‘Fluffy’, made international headlines after he was found thrashing around on the shore of Manly Beach on Monday.
The shark, which appeared to have some superficial injuries, was taken to a nearby ocean pool under the gaze of shocked beachgoers.
Marine experts then transferred Fluffy on a stretcher and took him to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary so he could be monitored in an isolation tank overnight.
Fluffy, a juvenile great white shark which forced swimmers to flee the water at a Sydney beach, is set to be returned to the wild
Dramatic video showed Fluffy rapidly moving its tail on the shore of Manly Beach shortly after midday on Monday
The sanctuary’s life sciences manager, Rob Townsend, told Business Insider a small child asked him the shark’s name and ‘Fluffy’ was the first thing that came to him.
‘Too many people overheard,’ Mr Townsend said, adding that the shark was doing well and should be released out to sea later on Tuesday.
‘White sharks don’t do well long-term in captivity,’ he said.
Senior aquarist at Manly Sea Life, Robbie McCracken, also hoped the shark would soon be released.
‘He has had a chance to rest and recoup and hopefully we will be able to he release him a bit later today,’ he told the Nine Network.
The shark, which appeared to have some superficial injuries, was taken to a nearby ocean pool under the gaze of shocked beachgoers
Marine experts later transferred Fluffy on a stretcher in a ute to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary so he could be monitored in an isolation tank overnight
The sanctuary is waiting for the all-clear from NSW Fisheries to take the shark back out to sea for release.
‘This animal is better suited to recovery out in its environment,’ Mr McCraken said.
‘We are hoping that it sort of mistakenly found its way into an area it didn’t intend to be and got a bit tired and exhausted and then stressed with the waves and all the people around it.
‘Hopefully when we let it back out quite a ways offshore in much deeper water it will be able to recover.’
Mr McCraken said it was a mystery why Fluffy tried to beach himself.
‘These great white sharks usually are animals that would tend to be offshore a bit, out in the deeper more unrestricted waters,’ he said.
Experts at Manly Sea Life said they hope to release Fluffy back into the ocean later on Tuesday
Fluffy washed up (left) at the popular swimming spot on Monday. He was taken to a nearby rock pool (right) as stunned sunbathers watched on
‘This one for whatever reason found its way up into the beaches of Manly and then into the surf zone where it came into a bit of grief.
‘That is where we were able to step in and sort of intervene.’
Dramatic video emerged on Monday afternoon showing Fluffy rapidly moving his tail on the shore of the busy beach shortly after midday.
‘Literally about to take my boys for a swim,’ one witness captioned a video posted on social media.
Another beachgoer told Nine News the shark was quickly rescued and taken to the rock pool to rest.
The sanctuary where Fluffy stayed overnight is waiting for the all-clear from NSW Fisheries to take the shark back out to sea for release
Rescuers are seen attending to Fluffy before placing him on a stretcher
‘Lifeguards on jet ski kept a close watch and then marine rescue arrived to bring it to shore on a stretcher,’ the witness said.
Video and images posted on social media show the young white pointer lurking in the shallow rock pool waters.
‘Shark in Manly bower pool right now. She just washed up on Manly beach. Beautiful to see such a gorgeous animal,’ one wrote on Twitter.
Another commented: ‘No swimming in the pool today.’