Sharks Love To Be Petted
🦈 They're Like Dogs 🦈
“Love” and “affection” are terms not commonly used to describe encounters with large sharks, but they’re used repeatedly by Jim Abernethy to narrate his recent get-together with a large tiger shark known as Tarantino.
The special reunion at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas was videotaped and footage shows Tarantino swimming into the arms of Abernethy, and seeming to crave his caresses much like an affectionate dog craves those of its owner after a prolonged absence. As Abernethy and the shark are swept down current, he returns to the camera and Tarantino follows, again swimming into his arms. This happens twice in the footage.
The special reunion at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas was videotaped and footage shows Tarantino swimming into the arms of Abernethy, and seeming to crave his caresses much like an affectionate dog craves those of its owner after a prolonged absence. As Abernethy and the shark are swept down current, he returns to the camera and Tarantino follows, again swimming into his arms. This happens twice in the footage.
“I could tell she had missed it,” Abernethy says of an apex predator he refers to as an “old friend.”
To be sure, Tiger Beach is a special place, known as a destination where close encounters can be enjoyed in what many consider to be a relatively safe environment.
The predators are fed during commercial dive operations, and many distinctive sharks have been given names.
Veteran divers such as Abernethy, who runs Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures, claim to have developed special relationships with some of those sharks.
🦈
Though there are bound to be critics of people “tempting fate” with such close interactions, Abernethy, who was once bitten by a lemon shark, was hoping his footage would send a message.
“I wish there was some way that I could get the world to see what these beautiful creatures are really like,” he says, “so we could end the needless slaughter and keep our oceans healthy, not only for them but for our own existence on the planet.”
To be sure, Tiger Beach is a special place, known as a destination where close encounters can be enjoyed in what many consider to be a relatively safe environment.
The predators are fed during commercial dive operations, and many distinctive sharks have been given names.
Veteran divers such as Abernethy, who runs Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures, claim to have developed special relationships with some of those sharks.
🦈
Though there are bound to be critics of people “tempting fate” with such close interactions, Abernethy, who was once bitten by a lemon shark, was hoping his footage would send a message.
“I wish there was some way that I could get the world to see what these beautiful creatures are really like,” he says, “so we could end the needless slaughter and keep our oceans healthy, not only for them but for our own existence on the planet.”
This Shark Comes To Cuddle With Him
Whenever He Goes Diving
For The Last 7 Years
Meet Rick Anderson, an Australian man who calls a female Port Jackson shark his friend, saying she comes to cuddle with him whenever she sees him. “I started playing with her about seven years ago when she was just a pup about 6 inches long,” Anderson told The Dodo. “I approached her carefully so as not to spook her, then began to gently pat her. Once she got used to me, I would cradle her in my hand and talk soothingly to her through my regulator.”
The man, who has been scuba diving for 27 years and runs a dive school, added: “Over the following seasons, she’d recognize me and would swim up to me for a pat and cuddle. She soon got
used to me - to the point where she will swim up to me when I’m going past, and tap me on the legs until I hold my arms out for her to lay on for a cuddle.”
“Most divers seeing this for the first time can’t
believe it,” he added. “I don’t feed her or any of the other sharks I play with - I basically treat them like I would a dog.”
It's an adorable friendship and, if you look past her rows of razor-like teeth, this friendly shark is almost cute.
It's an adorable friendship and, if you look past her rows of razor-like teeth, this friendly shark is almost cute.
The Port Jackson shark is a nocturnal, oviparous type of bullhead shark of the family Heterodontidae, found in the coastal region of southern Australia, including the waters off Port Jackson. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Heterodontus portusjacksoni
Higher classification: Heterodontus
- Check out another video on this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzigh...
- Check out the updated version at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfZiQ...
- Pictures courtesy of Rick's Dive School.
- Check out more info about Rick’s Dive School
- http://ricksdiveschool.com.au/
- https://www.facebook.com/Ricksdivesch...
Shark!!! Shark!!
Sources:
- http://www.boredpanda.com/diver-cuddl...
- https://www.thedodo.com/port-jackson-...
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...
🦈 🦈 🦈 🦈
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