What’s the biggest fish you’ve ever swum with?
If you’ve ever swum in the sea, you’ll have most likely shared the waters with little fish that are smaller than your foot. Anyone who’s been lucky enough to scuba dive in a more exotic location might have encountered slightly bigger fish – but no bigger than us humans.
Most of us would probably feel nervous to swim with a big fish – so imagine swimming alongside a 20-foot great white shark.
Ocean Ramsey, a Hawaii-based marine biologist, did just that while exploring in 2019.
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No biggie: sharks just happen to be the fiercest predators in the ocean.
We’ve all heard enough tales of surfers getting their arms and legs bitten off by these triangle-finned beasts to know that we certainly wouldn’t willingly go within five miles of one.
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But Ocean told TODAY hosts that she had no reason to be nervous during her own encounter.
She said that most sharks “swim past surfers, swimmers, and divers all day every day” without attacking them, adding:
“It’s so rare that they ever make a mistake.”
A mistake or an intentional attack? Maybe we should believe Ocean on this, considering she’s been studying great white sharks for over 10 years.
Still, we probably wouldn’t chance our luck with this shark, which, Ocean estimates, weighs over 2 tonnes.
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Encounters like this aren’t common, especially as Ocean wasn’t looking for great whites at the time. In fact, she and her team were studying tiger sharks off the coast of Oahu when the moment happened.
Most people would have swum away as fast as possible, kicking their legs in blurred motion like a cartoon character, but not Ocean.
Oh, no – Ocean felt lucky to have crossed paths with the monster.
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She said:
“We never would have imagined we would be fortunate enough to be graced with the presence of this massive, big, beautiful, female white shark. It fills my heart with joy and takes my breath away.”
You have to feel her on that one. While swimming with sharks isn’t for everyone, there’s no denying that they’re incredible creatures. And most of us would agree that they’re beautiful to look at – from a safe distance.
The images captured at the scene unsurprisingly went viral when Ocean posted them on Instagram. One video shows Ocean holding onto the shark’s fin and swimming alongside her.
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It’s only when you see Ocean next to the shark for scale that you can get a sense of just how huge the great white is.
Interestingly, Ocean thinks the shark might be pregnant. Even more reason to stay away – we all know the damage that a protective mom can do!
Ocean hopes that the attention she has received for her encounter will encourage her new fans to help protect our sharks.
She said:
“It’s just so sad that so many people out around the world seeing her would think monsters and want to kill her because of movies, like Jaws.”
She added that her encounter “breaks my heart”, saying:
“Moments like this are increasingly rare because shark populations are being wiped out for shark fin soup and shark finning.”
You have to admit: this story gives you a new perspective on something we’ve been taught to fear.
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While we’d still probably clear off at even the suggestion of a shark in the area, Ocean is right – they don’t deserve to be killed for simply existing.
You can check out more incredible pictures of Ocean’s underwater experiences on her Instagram account, or watch her TODAY interview in the video below.
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