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Inside forgotten wildlife park with decaying great white shark

This is the deserted Australian wildlife park that holds a big secret – a monster great white shark preserved floating in a green tank.

Spooky photos have emerged of the four-metre predator nestled deep in the dilapidated grounds of the Wildlife Wonderland park in Bass, Victoria.

Urban explorer Luke McPherson, 31, opened a window into the once-bustling business he visited as a child, which is now succumbing to ruin.

As if its post-apocalyptic condition is not sinister enough, the venue was allegedly forced to shut up shop in 2012 out of animal welfare concerns.

A monster great white shark is preserved and floating in tank at an abandoned wildlife centre. Photo: Caters
A monster great white shark is preserved and floating in tank at an abandoned wildlife centre. Photo: Caters

“Once I got the light behind the tank I was like ‘wow that’s creepy’!” Luke McPherson, 31, said.

“The fumes were so bad you couldn’t last longer than a minute in that room, the formaldehyde must have been evaporating.

“The tank was huge and in bad condition, with a rusting metal frame and smashed panels of glass and trash thrown inside.”

The tank is filled with formaldehyde, a chemical preservative that can cause severe burns and breathing problems to humans exposed to it.

The shark died in a fishing net in 1998 and was kept in the tank until the park was shut down in 2012 by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

The tank is filled with formaldehyde, a chemical preservative that can cause severe burns and breathing problems to humans exposed to it. Photo: Caters
The tank is filled with formaldehyde, a chemical preservative that can cause severe burns and breathing problems to humans exposed to it. Photo: Caters

Luke’s video of the beast has captured the imagination of the internet, with millions of views and comments from over the plant.

But the 31-year-old said he was initially drawn to the site for different reasons.

“I didn’t come here for the shark but was compelled after the park shut down because I came here growing up,” he said.

Urban explorer Luke McPherson, 31, opened a window into the once-bustling business he visited as a child. Photo: Caters
Urban explorer Luke McPherson, 31, opened a window into the once-bustling business he visited as a child. Photo: Caters

“I’m definitely surprised at how viral it’s gone, I think everyone thinks it’s a live shark and that they want to know what happened.

“Abandoned buildings are always eerie, you never know if there are squatters there, other explorers, wildlife.

“You always have to stay vigilant.”

-Caters