A scuba diver has revealed how to prevent a shark attack in a terrifying video that starts with a shark swimming slowly towards a diver.
A viral video posted on TikTok and Reddit, explains what to do and what not to do if a swimmer ecounters a shark in open water.
The original clip was posted on TikTok by user @mermaid.kayleigh. In it Kayleigh commentates as her friend and fellow diver Andy showcases what to do if you come into contact with a shark.
In the video Andy can be seen in the water as a tiger shark approaches her from behind.
Kayleigh narrates: "Andy is demonstrating why we do not want to splash and swim away from sharks.
"Splashing and swimming away imitates what prey does. When we're dealing with top predators like sharks, we also want to act like a predator."
Andy then can be seen turning around to face the shark as it comes towards her.
Kayleigh continues: "So what you actually want to do is not splash, turnaround, face the animal and maintain eye contact.
"With tiger sharks, you can place your hand on the top of their head, push down gently and that will redirect them away from you."
She then does exactly that, almost stroking the sharks head as she redirects it.
A OnePoll survey found that 39 per cent of UK adults say they hate sharks, with the main reasons for this hatred being that they are dangerous, they are scary and that they attack humans.
The phobia associated with sharks is called Galephobia and can trigger extreme anxiety in sufferers.
According to National Geographic, there is a one in 3.7 million chance of being killed by a shark.
Although the chance of being attacked by a shark is extremely unlikely, fear of creatures was stoked by the 1975 blockbuster Jaws.
Dubbing the movie's impact the "Jaws effect," Christopher Neff, a lecturer in Public Policy from the University of Sydney, argued that the film helped create three myths around shark attacks.
That sharks deliberately bite people, encounters with sharks are always deadly and sharks need to be killed to protect humans.
Every year there are over 100 million sharks killed and in the near 50 years since the film's release shark populations havve declined rapidly.
Peter Benchley, the author of the novel that inspired the movie, regretted what his work led to. He told the Daily Express: "I could never write that book today. Sharks don't target human beings, and they certainly don't hold grudges."
Following the film's release he became a shark protection advocate until his death in 2006.
Although many social media users were impressed by the footage, others were quick to see the funny side.
One imagined a conversation between the shark and Andy: “Hey pal, why don’t you just go over this way instead.”
“K.”
Another was a bit more sceptical of using the technique, saying: "I just want to note that we do not have any footage of the times this maneuver didn’t work."
