I've swam with sharks many many times and found them to be beautiful, elegant creatures. What more to expect from an animal that has evolved over millions of years! This brings to mind my first (and only, so far) encounter with a shark that is considered "dangerous" - a tiger shark. I was freediving at Lady Elliot Island (Great Barrier Reef, Australia) and taking a breather on the surface when I saw the silhouette of a shark swimming near the sandy bottom, at about 12m depth. I couldn't tell what species it was, though I could see that it had a rounded snout, so I swam down to have a closer look. As I got closer, it swam into a patch of sunlight which illuminated its stripes and THAT's when I realised it was a tiger shark! I was about 3m away from it so I stopped and finned up to the surface, keeping my eye on it. Judging from its body language, it didn't look like it wanted to attack me. The shark just kept on cruising in the direction it was headed and didn't even look at me. I do understand that shark attacks happen and that is never pleasant, but it is usually a case of mistaken identity where the shark mistakes humans for other prey.
It's a real shame that many species of sharks are threatened with extinction, mainly due to demand from the shark fin trade. I came across this animated documentary made easy for kids (and adults!) to understand about what would happen to our oceans if all the sharks disappeared.
And here are some of my favourite shark pics from various encounters over the years:
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| Grey Nurse Shark at North Stradbroke Island, Qld, Aus. Grumpy looking but docile! |
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| A pregnant Grey Nurse! This is good news, as they are an endangered species! |
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| Wobbegongs are sharks too! |
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| A shark egg case! (aka mermaid's purse). Species: Dogfish |
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| Not sure which species this egg case belongs to, but it's pretty! |
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| Volunteering with Great White Shark research in South Africa in 2012 |
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| Up close and personal, whilst diving in the shark cage. |
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| Cool-looking guitar shark, Lady Elliot Island, Qld, Aus. |
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| Epaulette shark, Lady Elliot Island, Qld, Aus. |
Wouldn't you rather see all that than THIS?
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| Shark fins drying in the sun cover the roof of a factory building in Hong Kong on Jan. 2, 2013. (Antony Dickson/AFP/Getty Images) |
Do your part. Don't eat sharks fin soup!! And spread the word!
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