Massive Bull Shark "Begs" Diver For Nose Rubs
Malorie Thompson
A lot of people have a fear of sharks. Countless movies have been made based around the fear, like Jaws, The Meg, In The Deep, The Reef, Open Water, and more, and people can't seem to get enough of them.
As it turns out though, fears of sharks are often blown out of proportion. True shark attacks are so incredibly rare and sharks really aren't always the cold-blooded killers we make them out to be.
Photo: Instagram/@deepseaguardians
That was recently seen in an adorable video showing a gentle bull shark asking a diver for some nose rubs!
The environmental organization Deep Sea Guardians shared footage of the encounter on Instagram, saying:
"Here's a beautiful video captured by our great friend @janelleavanruiten to remind everyone that sharks aren't monsters! In the video, this beautiful Bull Shark is clearly coming at her for a little cuddle without any intention of harm whatsoever…."
Photo: Instagram/@deepseaguardians
They added that it's important to note that inexperienced divers should never interact with wildlife. They said, "Don't get it wrong though, even though she clearly looks like a little cuddly puppy, you still need to be highly experienced to be able to safely interact with sharks like this."
Check out the video below:
Amazingly, this isn't Janelle's only close-up experience with a bull shark. In a recent Instagram post, she shared that the bull shark named, Speckels, "loves her nose rubbed more than any Bull I've ever encountered."
The post was accompanied by a video of Speckels asking for some nose rubs:
In a follow-up post, Janelle added:
"I cant with this girl, I usually try to not be so hands on with bullys but Speckles has decided otherwise. Sometimes she’ll start to go into tonic and catches herself and then pushes into my hand more. Its the craziest thing, as soon as she feel comfortable with you its game over. Days with her remind me how lucky I am to spend most days in the water learning and really trying to understand these apex predators.
Ill always wonder whats really going on inside that head of theirs."
It's a good reminder that we shouldn't categorize all sharks as "bad" or "scary." They're sentient creatures full of personality and life, and they deserve our respect and protection too!
