A scuba diver has gone viral after explaining how to escape a potential shark attack – by demonstrating on an actual shark.
Kayleigh Grant is a professional scuba diver and co-founder of Kaimana Ocean Safari tours in Hawaii. Grant – who goes by the username @mermaid.kayleigh on TikTok – has more than one million followers on the app, where she posts videos exploring the deep blue sea and her encounters with its underwater creatures.
In one viral video posted earlier this week, which has since gained more than 2.4m views, Grant shows her friend Andriana confronting a real-life tiger shark. In the clip, Grant gave viewers instructions on what to do when faced with an imminent shark attack.
“Andy is demonstrating why we do not want to splash and swim away from sharks,” she began. “Splashing and swimming away imitates what prey does.”
A vicious cycle of DNA damage and repair could be turned against cancer
“When we’re dealing with top predators like sharks we want to also act like a predator,” Grant explained. To do so, swimmers must “not splash” in the water. Instead, they should “turn around”, face the animal, and “maintain eye contact”.
@mermaid.kayleigh Follow @andriana_marine to learn even more about #sharks! 🦈💙 Just like bears & other #predators we are taught to #maintaineyecontact, yell, get large, back away slowly… it’s the same with sharks! They are not the man eating monsters the media portrays & typically want nothing to do with humans. So much so that just pushing on their head is enough to deter. #tigershark #sharkdiver #sharkdiving #sharkdive #ocean #hawaii ♬ Black Out Days Sped Up – Ryugan
Specifically with tiger sharks, Grant said, “You can place your hand on the top of their head, push down gently, and that will redirect them away from you.”
Read more: Independent
