Did you spot the second Tiger Shark? #sharks #hawaii #tam

While we would love to lock in and just appreciate the intricate and incredible detail of each shark one at a time and be able to appreciate the behaviors we observe or experience in each moment, being respectful of the capabilities and ecological role of sharks as apex predators (not monsters, but simultaneously acknowledging how capable they are, that they need to survive as well, and how our behavior could be perceived as a “potential weak animal/easy meal”) requires us to be vigilant in maintaining tactical awareness: immediate task engagement plus constant scanning for changes or threats. An accident doesn’t help the reputation of sharks (or our appendages, life, work, or others), so while we love to be able to review, reflect, and share moments of gained insight with others, and that’s certainly easier to do with videos, nothing is ever worth “the shot,” and no matter how exciting a moment is, we train to never get locked in. Handle the immediate interaction if there is one while tracking the behavior of all the animals around (this includes the behavior of other humans in the water, who have the greatest diversity of behavior). Tracking all the sharks in my brain works kind of like submarine sonar, for lack of a better way of describing it. Inside my mind, I see a video of the situation playing out. While I watch with my eyes my mind makes a lot of mental calculations based on the behavior I’m observing, my previous experience, and all the information I have about a specific individual and situational dynamic to make a prediction of the trajectory of every shark. As I continue to turn in all directions, the accuracy of that prediction is either reconfirmed or, if there’s a sudden change in behavior and trajectory, my brain notes the differentiation and pays more attention to the behavior of that individual. If I continue to accurately predict behavior and trajectory, I just maintain even awareness updated every 10 seconds, but if I’m not accurately predicting, or there’s an event or stimulus that might result in faster movement and reaction, I increase observational updates by looking around faster and more frequently #sharks, #shark, #sharkdiving, #savethesharks, #sharkconservation, #ocean, #oceanlife, #marinebiology, #marinelife, #oceanconservation, #underwater, #freediving, #scubadiving, #oceanlover, #saveouroceans, #wildlife, #nature, #apexpredator, #respectwildlife, #coexist, #hawaii, #oahu, #northshoreoahu, #oneoceandiving, #oneoceanconservation, #oceanramsey, #tigershark, #sandbarshark, #galapagosshark, #hammerheadshark, #whitetipshark, #blacktipshark, #sharklove, #protectwhatyoulove, #oceaneducation, #sharkawareness, #sharkweek, #underwaterphotography, #blueocean, #oceanvibes, #sealife, #saveourplanet, #waterwoman, #freediver, #divehawaii, #underwaterworld, #sharklover, #oceanadventure, #wildandfree, #naturelovers, #marineconservation, #ecosystem, #healthyoceans, #planetearth, #savewildlife, #wildlifephotography, #underthesea, #oceans, #deepblue, #adventure, #naturephotography, #conservation, #oceanic, #oceanpositive, #earthfocus, #environment, #protecttheocean, #oceanminded, #savetheocean, #marineecology, #underwaterlife, #sharkfacts, #sharkeducation, #wildoceans, #freedive, #freedivelife, #divinglife, #waterphotography, #sharkencounter, #respectnature, #oceanmagic, #underwaterlover, #sharkresearch, #oceaninspiration, #waterislife, #saveourseas, #marinewildlife, #oceanhealth, #ecowarrior, #hawaiilife, #aloha, #oceanloverforlife, #natureaddict, #exploremore, #oceancommunity, #sharkbehavior, #oceanprotection, #earthlove, #oceanawareness, #marineeducation, #protectmarinelife