Credits: Social Media
Swimmer handles shark chasing her with one simple maneuver in impressive viral video
A professional shark swimmer shared the fear-inducing moment she deterred a chasing shark with just her hand.�
Kayleigh Grant is best known as @mermaid.kayleigh on TikTok, where she has over 2 million followers. In a recent viral video, the swimmer showed how she was easily able to push away a shark with her trusted technique.
Although for most it would be a scary task, its nothing out of the ordinary for Kayleigh.�
Deterring a chasing shark with just the hand
Kayleigh shared the video on November 16 and it has since gained over 1.7 million likes. In her video, she highlighted the importance of staying calm if you find yourself in a situation where a shark is swimming towards you.�
If you panic and swim away from sharks they will likely continue to follow you due to their prey drive, she wrote on-screen, showing the shark swimming in line after her.
Instead stand your ground, make eye contact and push them away if absolutely necessary, she continued. Kayleigh showed herself manually pushing the shark by the head away from her, to swim in another direction. It worked and the shark actually swam away with no fuss.
Sharks have a natural instinct and splashing, panicking and swimming away from them trigger their prey drive. Its better to stay calm, stand your ground, make eye contact, and if necessary, push them away, she captioned the post.
Kayleighs shark encounter has gone viral on TikTok
With so many viewers, TikTok users applauded Kaylieghs ability to act casually in the situation.�
Stand on business when attacked by a shark, wrote one user.
I think if a shark was following me, Id forget how to breathe, added another.
My toxic trait is thinking with this learned new tactic I can swim with the sharks, reads one comment.
Another commenter joked: Sharks have a fear of rejection and get embarrassed if you say no.
Kayleigh regularly needs to deter sharks
Given her job means constantly swimming with sharks, Kayleigh often finds herself using the classic maneuver shown in her viral video.
Kayleigh recommends the best method for deterring a shark (even for nonprofessionals) is to place something between you and the shark, like a fin. This method is typically all that you need to deter a shark, she explained.
The TikToker explains in comments that she does not see sharks as monsters as many do, but instead, animals that need to be respected in their environment.
