Rosie was made famous last year when video of her was posted to YouTube. Sadly, it also brought this dead great white the wrong kind of attention, too.
Discovering Rosie
Luke Mcpherson found a dead great white shark in a closed down wildlife park in Melbourne, Australia late last year. It was soaking in formaldehyde in a large, andondoned tank. His video quickly went viral and Rosie, as she the shark became known, was suddenly very famous.
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Died In Fishing Net
A Facebook page was created for Rosie the Shark. One post explains how she came to be in the park:
Wildlife Wonderland, located in Bass, Victoria, has been sitting abandoned since 2012. Amongst rubble and crumbling buildings, is Rosie, a taxidermied 16.5-foot great white shark. She was captured way back in 1998 in the tuna fishing nets of South Australia. Her body was supposed to be kept at the Wonderland park on a temporary basis, but she ended up there permanently instead.
Vandals
Unfortunately, her fame led vandals to track her down at the abandoned park and try to break into her tank. They succeeded in removing the top of the tank and had been throwing trash into it. Many people began calling for Rosie to moved to a safer home.
Donated
Crystal World and Prehistoric Journeys stepped in to help Rosie and move her to a new, safe home. Rosie was donated by her owner to Crystal World’s exhibition. But they still had to figure out how to transport her, and fast — liquid was quickly evaporating from her tank.
Moving Her
The team started by pumping the formaldehyde out of her tank. This left Rosie lying awkwardly on her side. A crane was then brought in to move her and her now-empty tank.
Safetly Transportsd
Rosie was then transported via a large truck to her new home at the Crystal World and Prehistoric Journeys exhibition.
Rallied Together
Shane McAlister, one of Crystal World’s employees, was thrilled :
“It’s such a great outcome. Australia rallied together to save Rosie and get her a forever home at Crystal World.
“It has been an exhausting week but we are very happy with Crystal World coming to the rescue.”
Expensive
All of this has come at an extreme expense, however. Removing the chemicals safely, repairing the tank, and transporting Rosie wasn’t cheap. The new owners of Rosie have set up a Go Fund Me page to seek help in covering their expenses.
What The Money Is For
They estimate the total cost to be around $100,000, and detailed what that money will be spent on:
· We need to use hazmat suits and neutralising chemicals to nullify the formadehyde and remove everything but Rosie from the tank.
· We need to clean and repair the tank removing the extensive rust and excess chemicals.
· We need to repair damage to Rosie and to build brackets to support her.
· We need to obtain 20,000L of glycerine which will cost between $30,000 and $50,000 depending on where we can source it (internationally or locally).
· We need to replace her filtration system.
· We need to move her to a new building (yet to be built) with a concrete pad built to hold her final weight of 30 tonnes. (To do this we will need to pump out the tank again for the transfer by crane).
· Once in her final home, we will set up displays and information sharing Rosie’s story. Rosie will then be on full display for the public to visit free of charge, seven days a week including public holidays.
Just Happy To Help
McAlister calls it a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. “It’s a remarkable thing, for starters, with all the vandalism and everything that has happened to the actual wildlife park and to Rosie’s tank. “To bring her back and actually put her on show for people is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do this, and I’m just very blessed and proud to be a part of it,” he says according to Unilad.
Rosie Is A New Gem
According to news.com.au, Crystal World contains “the world’s largest exhibitions of Crystals, Fossils, Meteorites, Gems, Jewelery, and Minerals.”
Was Landfill-Bound
The Herald Sun writes that Sharon Williamson, who works at Crystal World, says she helped convince the site’s owner to take the shark. “Otherwise, she was going to go to landfill,” Williamson said.
We Can’t Forget Honey the Dolphin
A few people on Twitter remarked that while it’s great the Rosie has a new place to call home, there are other animals who need our help. “People are obsessed about a dead shark (Rosie the abandon shark) being “recused” when you have Living animals stuck in cages or run down parks. Look at honey the dolphin. People are evil & greedy,” wrote @watchmyflipflop.
The Living Needs Us Too
Apparently, Honey the dolphin is in a tank in a marine park in Japan and needs assistance — possibly more than a formaldehyde-soaked shark, popular though it may be.
