A stranded shark nicknamed Bukang-i made her way out of an artificial waterway in South Korea's port city of Busan and into the open sea on Wednesday.
The female dusky shark, about 3.5 meters long, was guided out to sea more than a month after being found stranded in the artificial canal at North Port Waterfront Park in Busan on Sept. 18.
Authorities launched the third attempt to lead her out of the canal on Wednesday morning. The operation ended in success about eight hours later at around 6 p.m. The two previous attempts, one in late September and another earlier this month, had failed.
The shark's nickname combines the Korean name for the North Port of Busan, "Bukhang," and the suffix "-i."
Bukang-i's presence drew over 1.6 million visitors to the waterfront park, but concerns about her health grew as the water inside the canal got colder and based on observations by her handlers that they had not seen her eat for the entire month.
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