Hypnotizing Sharks

After about 16 hours of traveling, including multiple layovers due to my flight being cancelled, I finally made it home at about 2 am last night. Though I was exhausted, I was still on California time so I sat down to watch the last night of Shark Week.

This show called Shark Man was on, all about this guy who "hypnotizes" sharks, putting them in a state of tonic immobility. By rubbing their nostrils, the sharks sort of glaze out and its possible to invert their whole body, as if they are standing on their noses. This truly amazing feat is captured in a trailer for the very show I saw here:




I nearly cried when I saw it- it's so beautiful! The way the shark would rub up to the diver was pretty much exactly the same as the way my cat was head-butting me, happy to see me after I had been gone for several days. The ease in which the sharks can be manipulated says so much about the power of touch. I could almost relate with the expressions on the sharks faces as they gave in to the pleasure of being touched. Yeah I guess the sharks could be called "loose" if you know what I'm saying.

The guy went on to do this same thing with a tiger shark and then –gasp- with a 15 ft female great white. It was seriously one of the most amazing things I've seen.

God I'm gonna miss Shark Week now that its over. Well, I'm not gonna miss "Top 5 Eaten Alive" or "shark Feeding Frenzy", but Shark Man, him I'll miss.