BUT MOM IT’S SHARK WEEK! Sharks have a special place in our hearts. We dedicate a whole damn week to them and it was forever immortalized by Step Brothers. If you don’t know what I’m talking about close your computer or put down your phone and head find a stream of that NOW…and then come back.
Now you get it right? Okay now that we are all on the same page, let’s get down to business.
Sharks.
Most people can’t stand them but say hi to Rick Anderson who loves to sleep with the fishes swim with the sharks.
He mainly likes to dive off the coast of Nobbys Beach in New South Wales, Australia where he has a special friend. For some weird reason she doesn’t have a name, but she’s a 6-foot female Port Jackson shark.
You’re probably wondering why these pictures don’t look like a scene out of Jaws. Wikipedia has this to say about Port Jackson sharks.
“It also does not pose any danger to humans. In October 2011 a man was ‘bitten’ by a Port Jackson shark at Elwood Beach near Melbourne. The bite did not pierce the skin and the man was able to swim away while the shark was latched on to his calf.”
So this isn’t too strange for Anderson to have a best friend that’s a Port Jackson shark!
Anderson told The Dodo, “I started playing with her about seven years ago when she was just a pup about 6 inches long. I approached her carefully so as not to spook her, then began to gently pat her. Once she got used to me, I would cradle her in my hand and talk soothingly to her through my regulator.”
Yeah I can hear the Netflix Original bells ringing, someone get this duo a sitcom.
After the first season he met her, he kept petting her and she kept coming back. So as each season came the two met and hung out under the sea. He went on:
“I did this each time in the first season she was here. Then over the following seasons, she’d recognize me and would swim up to me for a pat and cuddle. She soon got used to me – to the point where she will swim up to me when I’m going past, and tap me on the legs until I hold my arms out for her to lay on for a cuddle.”
He also said that other divers can never believe him when he tells them this story. He also never feeds them and basically treats them like a dog.
Anderson has been diving for 27 years and owns a dive school. So basically you wouldn’t want to go into the seas with anyone who isn’t named Rick Anderson. He also noted that he hopes these sweet interactions make people less afraid of sharks.
Header Image Via Rick Anderson