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Most people will flee in terror when they encounter a shark in the open sea.
But a professional diver has revealed why swimming away from these predators is the most dangerous move.
Kayleigh Nicole Grant, founder of an ocean safari company, showed that it is always best to stand your ground, confront the shark and, if it continues to approach, gently push the fearsome creature away.
She shared the tip in a video that shows, first, how fascinated a roughly half-ton adult tiger shark was with its fins as it swam away from it, and then how surprisingly easy it can be to confront a shark and gently redirect it.
“If you panic and swim away from the sharks,” Grant said in his clip, “they will likely continue to follow you because of their prey drive.”
As for her “fight or flight” instincts, a professional diver advised her to do neither, and she demonstrated this through a powerful first-person demonstration of how to properly defend herself against a large adult tiger shark. If you try to run away, he said, the sharks “will probably keep following you.”
“Stand your ground, make eye contact, and push them away if absolutely necessary,” says Grant, who passes @sirena.kayleigh on TikTok, he advises in the clip.
As of Nov. 18 of last month, 76 bites from shark attacks have been publicly reported and verified in 2023, according to tracksharks.com, nearly 20 more than the total number of shark attacks in 2022.
However, only 10 of this year’s attacks were fatal and nine of the 76 incidents were allegedly provoked, the site reported.
Sharing the video on both TikTok and Instagram generated a wave of viral attention, as he managed to deflect the shark with a gentle but forceful push of the creature’s nose.
“Sharks are more respectful than many humans these days,” one commenter joked after watching the deadly predator calmly take direction and swim away.
While Grant has developed a large following for his captivating underwater videos, with two million followers on TikTok alone and counting, his advice on sharks echoes a broad consensus among scientists who study these creatures outside the social networks.
Sharing the video on both TikTok and Instagram generated viral attention, as professional diver Kayleigh Nicole Grant managed to deflect the shark with a gentle but forceful push of her nose. “Sharks are more respectful than many humans these days,” one commenter joked.
“Refrain from excessive splashing, especially in one spot,” according to a fact sheet maintained by the Florida Museum of Natural History, run in partnership with the University of Florida in Gainesville.
“Sharks can hear the low-frequency sounds of splashing,” advise the museum’s marine biology experts, “and can investigate to see if a fish or prey is in danger.”
A shark’s “inner ear,” called the lateral-acoustic system, can hear sounds with frequencies between 10 Hz and 800 Hz from miles away in the water, according to biologist Carolin Nieder of the University of Auckland in Australia.
This ability helps a shark explore a wide ocean in search of tasty aquatic prey in danger, meaning swimmers must be alert as they splash loudly and playfully in the ocean.
Suppose a shark arrives to observe your day at the beach.
In that case, researchers at Shark Lab, run by California State University, Long Beach, suggested more tips that echo what Grant shared on TikTok.
“To let the shark know you see it, you should always look straight at it,” according to Shark Lab scientists.
“By keeping your eyes on the shark, it will be able to tell you are watching it,” they said, “and most will swim away.”
Shark Lab’s key addition to Grant’s advice is to always watch your back.
A shark you’ve diverted may decide to swim after you to see it up close again, “typical behavior for many predators,” according to the lab beach safety page.
“That doesn’t mean the shark is stalking you,” Shark Lab said.
“It’s just a way for them to get a better look at something that could possibly hurt them.”
According to Dave Bader, director of operations and education at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, California, most sharks are less than three feet long and 80 percent are less than six feet long.
In other words, many of them are not the killer predators we see in Shark Week or the Jaws movies. Many are as afraid as we are of what is in the water.
“Sharks are definitely on the menu,” Bader told DailyMail.com last month.