How To Avoid a Shark Attack
With all the recent shark activity, people are looking for ways to avoid a shark attack. While sharks don’t like the way we taste, from time to time, they forget and attack. This has happened a few times already in New York, Florida, California, and around the world. So far, there have been 61 shark attack bites, and the summer isn’t over yet!
While you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than getting attacked by a shark, the fear is still in us. All we can think of when we see a shark is a scary monster with giant, sharp teeth ripping us apart. In order to ease this fear for many, Kayleigh Nicole Grant created a video that’s going viral. She swims with sharks regularly and shows people what to do to avoid a shark attack.
In her video, Grant recorded her colleague from Kaimana Ocean Safari, Adriana, swimming with a tiger shark. She explains that this is a video on what we do not want to do: splash and swim away from the shark. Doing this attracts the shark more toward us because this is what their prey does. Instead, we need to stop splashing, turn around, and maintain eye contact with the shark. You want to look like a predator, not prey. When the shark approaches you, take your hand and place it on the shark’s head and push it away from you. This will divert the shark into a new path.
While this is an incredible video, we should not go looking for sharks and try it. These are two professional divers and shark experts. They interact with sharks on a daily basis and are experts. Another scientist, marine conservationist, author, and shark expert is Ocean Ramsey. She wrote a book called What You Should Know About Sharks. She also offers an online course that helps people learn more about sharks and how to avoid a shark attack. Her course and diving lessons help her One Ocean Organization aid sharks in need and remove plastic from the ocean.
