Rescued great white shark 'Fluffy' sent back to sea after pool-aided treatment in Sydney

A great white shark, which was rescued and kept in a swimming pool in Australia, has been released back into the sea. Marine experts had helped save the shark after it was spotted stranded on Sydney's popular Manly Beach on Monday, 11 September.

Rob Townsend, life sciences manager at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary, told Nine News that the rescuers took the 1.5m juvenile shark to Fairy Bower Pool on a stretcher after efforts to push it back into the sea was unsuccessful.

"A few people on the beach tried to push it back out to sea, but it washed up four or five times," Townsend said.

The shark was nicknamed Fluffy by the staff.

Locals at Sydney's Manly Beach watched the shark get transported to the pool on a stretcher. The authorities said that the shark had some superficial injuries.

Robbie McCracken, from the Manly Sea Life Sanctuary said that the shark was in a state of stress.

"Its best chance for survival is to be back out in the wild after it has had a chance to rest and recover from its ordeal," McCracken told the Australia Broadcasting Corp on Tuesday.

"Five people were swimming in the pool at the time and they hopped out very quickly," Alex Martiniuk, one of the witness told BBC.

"The guys needed to work fairly quickly and lifted the shark into the pool and down the steps."

"A lot of people were asking how it had got into the pool, people assuming it had leapt in," Martiniuk added.