[imagesource:tiktok/andriana_marine]

Bravery is relative.

Some people are really brave for getting out of bed in the morning and making their beds. Others are considered brave for booping the snoot of wild sharks in deep waters and evading the snap of their jaws.

Two divers in Oahu, Hawaii, Kayleigh Grant (@mermaid.kayleigh) and Andriana Fragola (@andriana_marine), are in the latter category, showing off their lionhearts with sharks on TikTok.

Newsweek reported that they went viral after sharing a video of how to survive in shark-infested waters. In the footage shared by Grant, you can see Fragola splashing around frantically to attract the attention of an enormous tiger shark before effortlessly redirecting it away with her bare hands.

@mermaid.kayleigh We are trained professionals, do not attempt! @andriana_marine showing us what not to do & then what we should do when swimming with sharks. Sharks arent mindless man eating monsters but they are wild animlas just running on instincts so we must be sure to behave like an equal apex predator when swimming with them. This shouldnt be attempted but can be used in emergency situations. Please only purposely swim with sharks with a trained & professional guide. Cant wait for next tiger season so Andy & I can show you guys more about how to handle various situations with larger shark species! Be sure to also give her a follow for more vital shark information. #tigershark #ocean #savesharks #sharkdiving #sharkdiver ♬ ceilings – Sped Up Version – Lizzy McAlpine

When the shark moves towards her, its eyes turn white as it enters its “hunting mode”:

“Many shark species have an inner eyelid called a nictitating membrane, which they use to protect their eye if something comes near it,” Grant said. “It’s similar to us closing our eyes. In this video the shark shuts its eye getting closer to Andy, for protection.”

But the girls weren’t worried in the slightest:

“This is a female shark we have seen many times over the years,” Grant told Newsweek. “Because she is an older shark who is generally calm in demeanor, she had a very slow approach.”

The video was taken roughly 5 kilometres off the coast of Oahu, in water over 90 metres deep, and has so far received over 5,9 million views on TikTok:

“I hope that just once in my life, I can be this fearless,” said one user. “I think the shark was just as shocked as us,” said another.

They do it all the time, no biggie:

@andriana_marine #ocean #shark #tigershark #sharkdiver 📷: @mermaid.kayleigh ♬ hymn for the weekend x she knows by altegomusic – ALTÉGO

While for many, galeophobia (fear of sharks) and thalassophobia (fear of dark waters) are triggered in a big way merely watching these ‘mermaids’ of the deep, Grant and Fragola do give good advice if we ever happen to get out of bed and into the water like this:

@andriana_marine #CapCut #ocean #sharkdive #shark #freedive ♬ Golden Hour: Piano Version – Andy Morris

A reminder though, that these animals are apex predators and so what you see these ladies do shouldn’t be attempted without a trained and professional guide.

As far as marine biology is concerned, Grant mentioned that seeing sharks in the ocean is actually a good thing: “We are happy to see sharks in the water because sharks are a sign of a healthy ocean ecosystem,” she said.

Indeed, all our great white sharks have moved to Plett now because SA’s infamous orcas Port and Starboard have been chowing their livers in Cape Town – a sign of a sick ecosystem in which killer whales have to go to extreme measures to fill their tummies.

“Sharks aren’t the man-eating monsters that the media portrays,” Grant said. “They are actually being killed at an alarming rate of around 100 million per year for their fins, meat, and as bycatch. You can help them by eating less or no seafood in your diet.”

[source:newsweek]