Here’s a sentence that will strike fear into the heart of anyone with an irrational fear of deadly animals lurky at the bottom of swimming pools: a baby great white shark has claimed a sea pool near Sydney’s Manly Beach as its own, going for an arvo dip.
The poor little guy – who’s about 1.5 metres long – washed up at South Steyne mid-morning with apparent injuries, prompting stunned beachgoers to call in help from the team at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary after several (probably very misguided) attempts to push it back out to sea.
But not before they captured footage of it floundering on the shoreline.
Wildlife rescuers then used a stretcher to transport the injured shark to the very popular sea pool at Fairy Bower, about a five minute drive from Manly, which lifeguards obviously cleared out.
The shark quickly became a star attraction, with 200 or more people flocking to see it up close and personal.
Incredible scenes at #Manly pool after an injured shark washed up on shore & rescued @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/BHTbelfVkW
— Samantha Brett (@samanthabrett) September 11, 2017
Shark in #Manly bower pool right now. She just washed up on Manly beach. Beautiful to see such a gorgeous animal pic.twitter.com/T51gVsAZMq
— Alex Martiniuk (@AlexMartiniuk) September 11, 2017
Nice day for it! Incredible creature up close, but still too close for me! Vid sent in from a Manly local, who has decided to stay dry today pic.twitter.com/eYKu4L321U
— Freya Cole (@freya_cole) September 11, 2017
#shark in the #bower pool #manly pic.twitter.com/DIH8ylWMlz
— jomorgan (@hijomorgan) September 11, 2017
Rescuers found the shark in a “very weak state” with some “superficial injuries” around the jawline, but the underlying cause of its injuries are still unknown.
It’s believed the lil’ guy has since been removed from Fairy Bower pool and is resting in the care of experts until he’s strong enough to be released back into the wild.
We *would* say it’s safe to get back in the water but… maybe wait until tomorrow to give him a head start.
