Touching and even riding sharks by holding onto their dorsal fins seems to be a developing trend, judging by some of the videos being circulated on the Internet.
But a snorkeler in Bora Bora recently took this act to a new level by diving down to an 8-foot lemon shark, sliding underneath and hugging the shark as it swam lazily through gin-clear water near the bottom.
It almost looks as though he's trying to have sex with the shark, which seems so unresponsive that you can't help but wonder whether the footage is even real. (Perhaps divers who have been to Bora Bora know more about these sharks and how accustomed to people they have become?)
The footage certainly looks real, though, and no matter how tame the region's sharks might be, this kind of activity is dangerous.
Lemon sharks aren't known as man-killers, but they have bitten people before, and who would have blamed this shark for defending itself against this seemingly unwelcome and strangely intimate intrusion?
Loving sharks is a good thing. Hugging them? Not recommended.
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