KULEANA. -with care- #care #wildlife #savesharks #savetheocean #wildanimals #1

With care. Kuleana. Ali'i Nikolé (Queen Nikki) comes up to greet me, don't actually touch her gills but hover my hand out along her side so she can sense me with her ampullae of Lorenzini and her lateral line, as I do so the small remora she seems to always have with her flickers up her body. The interaction is gentle and brief, she doesn't open her mouth or turn into me. Despite what you see in social media shark-human interactions to the point of physical contact are actually very rare. By nature sharks are very non confrontational and cautious, with a balance of curiosity necessary for survival. It is a testament to their sensory systems and cognitive range that accidental bites and even territorial bites rarely occur on humans surfing, Spearfishing, swimming, wading, etc. Despite their incredible capabilities they are generally one of the most "polite predators" on the planet, displaying such patience with unaware people frolicking on the surface and in their home seemingly mimicking an injured animal and would be easy meal. Helping people to overcome their disproportionate fear of sharks because of sensational media is crucial for gaining support for shark conservation, however there is a difficult line the "swim" because that fear needs to be replaced with a high healthy level of respect for their important ecological role at apex predators. We can coexist and if we adapt to their needs and stay constantly respectful. It is very important to keep in mind the over 100,000,000 or more sharks are killed every year, equating to over 11k every hour = we need more people to care for sharks, to speak up for them, to help educate others to ban the shark fining practice for shark fin soup and stop the sale, trade, and possession of shark fins and derivatives. Abstaining and working to stop support for industrial fishing which kills an average of 9-12 sharks and other non-targeted species such as dolphins and turtles for every one targeted catch. Video a by @juansharks