What would you do if you were out diving one day and a shark started swimming toward you? Most seasoned divers would follow typical protocol and keep their distance, being careful not to provoke it.
However, one diver found himself in an unusual predicament. He did what he was supposed to do and swam away from the shark in question. But then, the shark started swimming toward him.
And to make matters even stranger, the shark then started bumping against the diver.
A diver named Josh Eccles was the one who found himself in this specific situation.
In a video posted on Facebook, we see Eccles have an unexpected yet heartwarming encounter with a lemon shark while on a diving excursion.
Eccles was just on a routine dive with other divers off Jupiter, Florida, basking at the beauty of the underwater world, when he noticed a lemon shark getting unusually close to them.
Not minding the shark too much at first, since it was not unusual for them to occasionally approach divers, Eccles followed precaution and kept his distance from the lemon shark.
However, the lemon shark kept on following him. What’s more, it also kept bumping Eccles deliberately.
This may cause panic to newbie divers, but Eccles, knowing from experience that this was unusual behavior for lemon sharks, decided to check the sea creature for what might be causing its distress. After all, lemon sharks are known for being aloof around humans.
And lo and behold, he found a large hook hanging out of the poor lemon shark’s belly!
All this time it was trying to get the diver’s attention to get some help.
Despite threats to his safety, Eccles decided to help the shark by trying to remove the hook that was hurting it. Holding the shark’s head with one hand, he tried to get the hook out of its belly a few times.
And after a few more nudges, he was able to take it out fully.
“Every time it swam by me, it would bump into me a little more. They always bump into us, but they don’t bump into us that frequently. That was a crazy opportunity, experience to be a part of,” Eccles said in an interview with WFLA.
In the end, Eccles made the right decision by trusting his instincts and saving the shark.
After removing the hook, Eccles and the other divers were treated to a view of a couple of lemon sharks swimming around Eccles, perhaps as a sign of thanks for his act of kindness towards their friend.
Unfortunately, this lemon shark is not the only sea creature that suffers from swimming around the sea with hooks attached. This may be the result of the harmful practice of shark fishing done by deep-sea fishermen.
While some sharks are lucky to escape capture, some escape with the fishermen’s hooks still in their bodies with no way to get them out. Thankfully, Eccles was there to help this shark.
The kindness Eccles showed to the shark is incredibly admirable. He didn’t hesitate to help a creature in need, and the result was an encounter he’ll surely never forget.
Check out the video of Eccles and the shark below!
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