‘Real-Life’ Mermaid Stands Her Ground as Shark Swims Directly Toward Her
Do you love swimming in the ocean? Would you ever swim where you knew there were sharks roaming around? @mermaid.kayleigh leads ocean safaris and loves everything found in the ocean, including sharks. She shared a video in mid-November of her snorkeling with tiger sharks, and it's a pretty shocking encounter to say the least!
The video starts with Kayleigh recording a tiger shark that seems to be coming directly at her. You can see there are several other sharks swimming around behind the big one coming her way. While most of us would probably freak out and start flaying and try to swim away, Kayleigh keeps her cool and when the shark gets close enough, she sticks her hand out to stop it from getting any closer. She pushes it away, and the shark just goes about its business like it was no big deal!
How @Kayleigh remained so calm is beyond me...but then again, I guess that's her job to swim with sharks and the fishes. She explains in her caption that splashing, panicking, and swimming can trigger sharks' prey drive, so remaining calm is crucial if you're ever approached by a shark. She also advises to stand your ground, make eye contact, and push them if necessary. Hopefully I'm never in a situation to have to do this myself!
Related: Shark Investigating Ocean Debris Reminds Us How Calm and Smart They Are
The video went crazy viral and has nearly 16 million views and more than 11 thousand comments. People had a lot to say about her scary encounter with a curious tiger shark. @gnielson got more than 150 thousand when they joked, "If a shark tries to attack you, just say no" and another commenter got over 250 thousand likes for adding, "Sharks have a fear of rejection and get embarrassed if you say no". @slby laughed, "Shark: “Understandable, have a nice day.” LOL"!
I'll be following Kayleigh's adventures because her feed is full of amazing underwater encounters. She's definitely a real-life mermaid!
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