Despite warnings from local residents, a female tourist from the Philippines swam and posed for photos with sharks off the coast of the Maldives.
(Video: ViralPress).
Angelica Gapit, a tourist from the Philippines, traveled to the Maldives for a vacation. While there, she received advice from guides and locals about the presence of nurse sharks, urging her to keep her distance from them while swimming.
However, despite these warnings, Gapit approached a group of nurse sharks, snorkeled, posed for photos, and even touched them.
“The locals warned me to stay away and not touch the sharks. But I found them to be very friendly and not scary at all,” Angelica Gapit shared.
Gapit interacts with nurse sharks, snorkeling and posing for photos. (Image taken from video).
Fortunately, no unfortunate incidents occurred, and Angelica Gapit was excited to share images and videos of her snorkeling with the sharks on social media.
Nurse sharks can grow to lengths of 3 to 4.5 meters; they can weigh up to 300 kg and live for 25 to 35 years.
Nurse sharks have thousands of small, serrated teeth in their mouths and possess a powerful bite, which they use to crush hard prey such as shrimp, squid, and shellfish. Unlike many other shark species that chase their prey, nurse sharks swim along the ocean floor, using their mouths to suck in food like a vacuum cleaner. After taking food into their mouths, they use their tough jaws to crush it before swallowing.
Nurse sharks prefer to inhabit shallow, warm waters and can be found throughout the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic regions.
This species of shark is considered docile but can still pose a danger and attack humans if provoked, agitated, or if humans encroach upon their territory.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed nurse sharks as a globally vulnerable species that needs conservation efforts.
