notactuallycute this concerns me for some reason, is this okay?
Hello, shorter-url.
Your concern is very much understandable! Many people are taught that a shark cannot swim when still, which is partially true.Sharks mainly breathe via two methods– buccal pumping, in which the shark actively draws water in through its mouth to pass over its gills, and ram ventilation, in which the shark must constantly move to force water over their gills. Buccal pumping is more prevalent in ancient sharks, and while some sharks adapted for bottom-feeding still use it, many modern sharks – like the great white shark – have lost that ability altogether and instead can only breathe via ram ventilation. These are called obligate ram ventilators and they have to keep moving in order to breathe.
This particular shark is an adult S. fasciatum, a Zebra or Leopard Shark, depending on the region. Fortunately, they aren’t obligate ram ventilators and, in fact, have very strong buccal muscles. You can even see them working in the first two gifs. When it starts moving to swim away, the diver lets it go, and there’s no harm for either party.
All the best,
FatanyerosAlso, in my work with nurse sharks (same branch as S. fasciatum) I found them to actually enjoy scritches and petting. They would actively seek them out on their own terms.
My life is infinitely better for knowing some sharks like scritches.