Gerrard Kaonga
Coming face-to-face with a shark is, understandably, a fear that keeps some people out of the open ocean but one viral video has explained just how to survive an attack.
Your natural instinct to try and swim away in panic if you came across the apex predator probably would make things worse, let’s be honest.
Thankfully a video, that has gone viral on TikTok, has advised social media users what they are meant to do if they happen to come into contact with a shark in the deep blue sea.
The clip was shared in mid November by Kayleigh Nicole Grant, who runs Kaimana Ocean Safari in Hawaii. It has so far been viewed more than 16 million times since being posted.
“Sharks have natural instincts and splashing, panicking, and swimming away from them can trigger their prey drive. It’s better to stay calm, stand your ground, make eye contact, and if necessary push them away,” she captioned the video.
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That is likely easier said than done, but it is certainly better to have a plan of action when faced with a predator in their natural habitat.
To prove she knows what she is talking about, Grant filmed herself taking her own advice.
In the clip she can be seen filming a shark coming towards her while she swims away in flippers. She then stops, reaches out her hand and nudges the shark calmly out of her way.
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Social media users were quick to joke about how effortlessly Grant shifted the shark out of the way.
“If a shark tries to attack you, just say no,” one user joked.
“My toxic trait is thinking with this learned new tactic I can swim with the sharks,” another added.
“Shark really said 'got it, enjoy your swim',” joked someone else.
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“Sharks have a fear of rejection and get embarrassed if you say no,” another commented.
Despite the fears had by many, shark attacks are considered rare in Hawaii.
According to the Department of Land and Natural Resources of Hawaii, there have only been a total of seven confirmed shark attacks this year.
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“It’s important to keep these incidents in perspective, and to remember that in Hawaii the chances of being bitten by a shark are less than one in a million,” the website states.
“The chances of being seriously injured by a shark are much less than that. But considering the tendency of some media to sensationalize sharks, and the fact that shark bites are such unusual events, it’s probably not surprising that when they occur they often generate attention out of proportion to the risk itself.”