Shark behavior, what to look for, and tips on how to behave.
In this article: Shark Behaviour | The Do's and Don'ts | Shark Diving | Shark Conservation
When you love the ocean, it's natural that you want to understand and respect its inhabitants. Learning more about sharks brings a deeper understanding of them. What they’re about and why they do what they do. Being so sharky with massive mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth makes it hard for them to change public perception.
They are almost always portrayed as mindless man-eating machines in media and movies. The truth is that they are not out to get us. We are not their natural prey, that’s why most bites are just that, bites. They realize that it’s not their food and then move away.
It is no secret that the ocean desperately needs our protection. Educating yourself and others is the first step.
Shark Behavior
We need to understand shark behavior and read the physical cues they give us to anticipate potential threats to swimmers and divers. The only way they can communicate is with their bodies. We need to know what to look for in their body language especially if we enter their habitats.
Ragged-tooth shark (also called the gray nurse shark, sand tiger shark, or blue-nurse sand tiger)
Rare Natural Shark Encounters
What I mean by a natural encounter is when you see a random shark on a normal dive. So, not being on a special shark dive.
Most sharks are quite skittish and encounters are rare and sought after by divers.
Sharks generally avoid divers as they are weary of anything foreign in their domain. Their priority is to preserve their own lives, they are mostly aloof and cautious. They will not just go up to a strange-looking object, because they don’t know what it is and whether it could be dangerous to them.
Calm and Inquisitive Behaviour
If the shark is comfortable with a situation they will swim around, observe, and swim away.
Sharks displaying curiosity often swim in a steady, predictable pattern, occasionally approaching to investigate new objects or creatures in their environment, including humans. These sharks might circle divers or swimmers at a distance, maintaining a relaxed and gentle swimming pace.
Unlike aggressive behavior, calm sharks keep their pectoral fins horizontal, and their movements are smooth and fluid rather than erratic. They may come closer to inspect but usually do so without sudden lunges or jerky motions.
A curious shark might pass by closely, sometimes even brushing against a person, but this behavior is usually exploratory rather than aggressive.
Floating calmly and allowing the shark to satisfy its curiosity without interference can lead to a peaceful and awe-inspiring encounter.
Zambezi (bull) shark circling me
Threatened or Aggressive Behaviour
Sharks typically exhibit a range of behaviors when they feel threatened, territorial, or are in a heightened state of predation.
Key indicators of aggressive behavior include rapid and jerky movements, arching their bodies, and swimming erratically.
Sharks might also lower their pectoral fins and make sudden changes in direction.
If a shark begins to circle a person or swims directly at them, these can be signs of increasing aggression.
The Do’s and Don’ts
When in the water with a shark, it is crucial to remain calm and avoid sudden movements, which can provoke the shark. Maintaining eye contact with the shark and slowly backing away towards the shore or boat can help reduce the risk of an aggressive encounter.
It’s also important to avoid splashing or making excessive noise, as these can attract a shark’s attention. This can indicate to the shark that there’s easy prey because it’s in distress.
In the event of an attack, defending oneself by targeting the shark’s sensitive areas, such as the eyes, gills, or snout, can deter it.
Keep your movements slow and deliberate and maintain eye contact. If a shark approaches closely, position yourself vertically to appear larger and less like prey. This is also the main reason why we never want to swim away from a shark, that is prey behavior.
Awareness of these behaviors and responses can significantly enhance safety when encountering sharks in their natural habitat.
Oceanic blacktip shark
Shark Diving
With all sorts of shark dives becoming more and more popular worldwide divers need to educate themselves to avoid any unnecessary accidents. These are almost exclusively attributed to uninformed divers misunderstanding the shark's behavior or not sticking to the rules stipulated by the dive operators.
Dive operators should always give a proper briefing with clear instructions to divers before taking a group out on a shark dive. These instructions will include specific rules like the ones mentioned in the list below.
Divers should always adhere to these rules and not get too comfortable, sharks are apex predators and should always be respected.
Education and awareness play a vital part in protecting sharks.
Here’s a List of Tips on How to Behave
- Maintain your position — let the shark approach you.
- Avoid waving your hands around, keep them still and close to your body.
- Be aware of where the shark is — always look around.
- Maintain eye contact with the shark at all times.
- Do not try and touch the shark.
- Don’t swim after the shark.
- Never swim away from a shark.
- The dive group should stay together.
- Never separate yourself from the group.
- Check your buoyancy, do not drop below the group.
Ragged-tooth shark
If you feel threatened during your shark dive:
Sharks will feel more comfortable investigating you if you are split from the dive group because you are much less threatening on your own. We were on dives where one person did not check their buoyancy and dropped deeper, the moment they separated from the group, the Bull shark that was circling below started to approach him.
If you feel threatened because the shark comes too close for comfort, breathe out, the loud release of bubbles from your regulator should deter the shark.
Make yourself bigger. Join hands with your dive buddy and stay close together. In this way, the two of you seem like one big animal and should keep the shark at bay.
If a shark exhibits aggressive behavior, divers should calmly exit the water immediately.
Shark Conservation
We fear what we do not understand. As divers and ocean enthusiasts, we must educate ourselves and others about sharks.
The last thing sharks need is a bad wrap because of careless human behavior when they are encountered.
Sharks are facing tremendous pressure and increasing threats.
Shark Finning
Globally an estimated 23–73 million sharks are finned each year. This is a wasteful practice and occurs uncontrolled in the majority of the world's oceans.
Over Fishing
There are more and bigger fishing vessels than ever before. This causes a massive reduction in the availability of food for sharks.
Destructive Fishing Methods
Unwanted fish or marine life can make up 40–90% of the bycatch. The industrial methods used to harvest marine life are so destructive and wasteful that they would be banned if most people were fully aware of their impact.
Fear of Sharks
The fear of sharks and ignorance about their biology lead to a lack of compassion and a reduced desire to conserve them.
Sharks are slow-growing animals and have low reproduction rates, making them vulnerable. Populations can collapse rapidly, but take decades to recover.
Sharks are crucial for maintaining marine biodiversity, and there is concern that some species may become extinct before their ecological role is fully understood.
Hammerhead shark
We Protect What We Love
I have been diving with these magnificent animals since 2014. From the very first shark dive I ever did, with our local broadnose sevengill sharks, my fear turned into immense respect and admiration. I aim to educate people about sharks and encourage firsthand experience of being in the water with them. This is a teaching experience like no other. We protect what we love and come to love only what we endeavor to understand.
It’s truly a life-changing experience to encounter a shark and to see how they move and behave. They are powerful animals that sometimes choose to interact with us, and on their terms, these interactions are peaceful and awe-inspiring.
I hope this will become your experience too. Let’s learn and grow to understand.
We Protect What We Love, Join the Movement!
by Madelein Wolfaardt
Images ©️ by @sealife_madeleinwolf
