This time on Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, Jonathan learns how to relax a shark!
Hi, I’m Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world!
For some reason, many kinds of sharks, when they’re held upside down, go into a sort
of “relaxed state.”
Back in the first season of Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, I visited shark researcher Kanesa
Duncan who was working with baby Hammerhead sharks to learn how fast they grow.
Her work with the sharks was made much easier because she could put them into that relaxed
state, called Tonic Immobility.
So I wondered…would it work underwater?
Meet Neal Harvey.
It’s just practice.
It’s just repetitive practice, over and over and over…
Or as I like to call him, the “Sharkmaster.”
He is a world-renown expert in shark tonic immobility because his job is to do it every
day.
Neal is a shark handler at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas.
It’s hard to believe what a cool job he has: every day he introduces divers to wild
sharks!
And part of his job is to show people the gentler side of these big fish.
Neal shows divers how wild sharks can be pet like puppies, if they are first put into tonic
immobility.
Neal has a remarkable rapport with these sharks.
Would it be possible for me to learn a little bit of Neal’s amazing technique?
To find out, Cameraman Tim and I fly down to Nassau, Bahamas.
Our mission: to meet the Sharkmaster and get some personalized instruction in shark tonic
immobility.
On the dock, Neal and I discuss the plan for the day.
We’re going to go out south, to the AUTEC buoy, out in the middle of the trench, and
try to bait for some Silky sharks.
He explains that the best way to start, is for me to try tonic immobility with smaller
sharks.
Juvenile Silky sharks are easy to put into tonic immobility in the classic way, by flipping
them upside down.
This technique only works with small sharks.
The trick is finding some Silky sharks.
We load the boat for a trip way offshore to a place where Silky sharks are sometimes seen.
Captain Clee J sets a course for the U.S. Navy AUTEC Buoy.
It’s more than 30 miles offshore, in the open ocean where Silky sharks live.
Part of the Navy’s advanced submarine testing range, the AUTEC Buoy is tethered in 5,000
feet of water.
Because large floating objects in the open sea often attract marine life just like reefs,
sometimes there are silky sharks here.
But overfishing has severely reduced the population.
Neal throws some chum into the water while Captain Clee J makes some fishy snacks.
We suit up for a shallow dive….in very deep water.
The water is an endless sea of blue.
And there is nothing here.
Perched on the hanging chum box, Neal patiently breaks off little chunks of fish to make a
trail of bite-sized shark snacks leading right to us.
His efforts pay off.
After what seems like an eternity, a single Silky shark shows up.
I film her at a distance as she circles us, munching the bait.
But she’s on to us.
Neal just can’t seem to catch her.
We chum patiently for 2 hours, but finally we have to admit: we’ve been skunked.
Back aboard the boat, we head for home.
It’s a long ride home with nothing to show for a day’s work.
And without the Silkies as a warm up, I’m going to have to jump straight to the much
larger Caribbean Reef sharks with no practice.
The next morning under cloudy skies, we load the boat and head out with captain Densel
only a few hundred yards.
This is where they feed the Caribbean Reef sharks.
Now the real fun begins.
I get to wear a stainless steel chain mail suit.
Yeah, that’s the back so you’re gonna step into them…
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Wait.
Someone got their butt chomped.
Yeah.
That’s not good!
Wait a minute, does this stuff work?
If a shark bites me wearing this, only the points of the teeth can get through the links
in the metal mesh.
Between that and the thickness of my wetsuit, I should be fairly safe from any bites.
Neal and I are joined by Cameraman Tim and Daniela Buttarelli, one of the other senior
shark feeders at Stuart Coves.
He has a very important job today—to be my safety diver and watch my back!
You need a sword, you look like a medieval knight!
Neal wears chainmail on his head because yes, the sharks are big enough to bite your head!
Daniela sets me up with a plastic helmet.
Neal hits the water first while the rest of us finish gearing up.
Neal will take the chum box down to the bottom and start feeding.
The sharks are used to this routine.
Every day one of the shark feeders comes down with food, so when they hear the boat pull
up, all the sharks start to come in from around the reef.
Back on the surface, I’m jumping into a shark convention, with Cameraman Tim right
behind me!
Caribbean Reef sharks have the classic heavy-bodied sharky look with gray-over-white countershading.
They reach 3 meters long—the length of a couch, and well over 100 pounds.
As a general rule, these sharks are not aggressive towards divers.
But they definitely know that the guy with the bait box is going to feed them.
So when Neal shows up with food, it’s like someone rang the dinner bell.
Within minutes we are all surrounded by dozens of big sharks.
They almost line up to take turns swimming by Neal for a snack.
Neal has this down pat.
He tells me where to position myself for great shots of the sharks grabbing the fish off
the end of his feeding stick.
I’m right up in there close to the feeding, so Daniela is right behind me keeping an eye
on things.
Sometimes two sharks go for the same piece at once and they get a little pushy, but in
general, they’re actually pretty good at taking turns.
I don’t really feel threatened at all.
When a small Nurse shark wanders into the scene, Neal sees an opportunity.
He quickly grabs the shark and flips her upside down.
He has to do it quickly, because if he doesn’t get the shark into tonic immobility fast,
she will bend around and bite him.
While she’s upside-down, the Nurse shark relaxes.
This is classic tonic immobility.
But this is a small shark.
How would you ever do that with a shark the size of a Caribbean Reef shark?
I’m about to find out.
Can Jonathan master the art of tonic immobility?
The sharky excitement is about to get wilder!
One of the sharks comes in close and Neal begins to gently stroke the underside of her
snout with his fingers and she calms down.
Sharks have pores on their snouts and face called Ampullae of Lorenzini.
The Ampullae of Lorenzini are electroreceptors—tiny organs designed to detect electrical currents
in the water.
They help sharks hunt in low light by allowing them to sense the minute electrical signatures
of living things.
Biologists think that Neal’s stainless steel glove causes some kind of sensation in the
sharks’ electroreception.
Maybe it feels good.
Or maybe it feels weird.
However it feels, it tends to make sharks calm down into a state of tonic immobility.
It doesn’t mean they are paralyzed or “in a trance,” they are just very mellow.
And they’re not upside down.
If this shark were a cat, she would definitely be purring.
And you have to admit, she’s kind of cute!
Just to show me how relaxed the sharks can get, Neal lifts her up vertically for a shark
hug.
When the shark has had enough, she perks up and swims away, joining the other sharks for
another round of snacks.
It’s clear that the sharks actually enjoy this.
As I film, I notice certain individuals keep coming back to Neal for more attention.
They nuzzle right up to him like a kitten.
Neal wants to show me how it’s done, so I put my camera down and come around…
I hate to keep using the cat analogy, but this really is just like rubbing under a cat’s
chin.
I get the feeling she would sit here for a long time, but when Tim brings the big camera
in closer, she spooks.
But there is no question—that was awesome!
I pet a shark!!
For the next phase of my shark training, Neal gets another shark mellowed out in position
and has me get up alongside the shark.
While tickling the nose and with a firm grip on the dorsal fin, all I have to do is…
Fail.
Clearly this is not as easy as it looks.
Neal finds another candidate and even proves it can be done.
Now all I have to do is not mess it up.
I take my position….and hopefully, the third time is the charm.
Whoa!
This thing is heavy.
It’s no wonder sharks sink!
“Look ma!
I’m liftin’ a shaahk!”
I’m just going to go ahead and say it.
That was really cool!
But now it’s time to get back to what I do best: filming.
And Neal is going to do what he does best—being the sharkmaster.
His ultimate demonstration of shark tonic immobility is holding a shark vertically on
its nose.
But finding the right animal in the right mood requires patience.
I film quite a few impressive shark maneuvers…
Not all sharks are up for it.
Pretty soon Neal is flipping sharks left and right.
Neal could do this all day—and so could the sharks.
So Cameraman Tim gets himself a front row seat.
Those of you who are shark experts have probably noticed that so far, all of these animals
have been female.
In general, the females are more cooperative and it’s fairly rare to get a male to do
this.
But towards the end of the day, even one of the males wants to join the fun, with a most
impressive one-armed headstand!
As the last dive comes to an end and we head back up to the boat, I have to smile because
I get to do the coolest stuff.
Sure, we struck out with the Silky sharks.
But I learned how to pick up a shark underwater, and I got to watch in amazement as Neal Harvey
demonstrated just how gentle and docile sharks can be.
It’s just another reason why sharks are so cool.
And another reason to fall in love with the Blue World!