Shark tamer
Michael Rutzen feels close to the shark even when eating, sleeping, breathing and dreaming. To prove to the world that these bloodthirsty predators from the famous film Jaws are actually quite sociable, intelligently developed and benevolent creatures, he is ready to face these animals. Once you understand the language of their body movement, the shark will allow you to get so close to it that you can touch it with your hand and tickle for the “ear”.
More recently, Michael starred in the documentary “Sharkman”, showing the world the breathtaking footage when his touch he enters a trance and can continue to do with it what he wants, such as turning it from his stomach to his back.
In the past, Mackl was engaged in fishing, and now he owns SharkDivingUnlimited, a company engaged in diving tourists in a cage to observe the Great White Shark in Gansbay Bay, 120 km from Cape Town.
So, year after year, watching from a safe place, Rutzen decided to dive into the water without any equipment or means of protection. He had to overcome his fear of this creature, sometimes reaching a length of 6 meters and weighing up to 3 tons.
For himself, he learned the language of shark movement that only he understood, giving him a signal when to approach and when to stay at a distance.
Mike got so close to the BBA that he could see the real color of her eyes. It is not black, as is commonly believed, but sky-turquoise. He also learned to swim with the shark and anticipate its actions.
By observing the shark’s movements, Mike learned to respect and understand its mood, changing the position of his body, visually increasing or decreasing its size, he convinced the shark that he was neither a prey nor a predator. This fact arouses the curiosity of the shark, some of which allow Mike to saddle himself and ride together across the ocean.
Mike hopes to change the shark’s behavior by making it sensitive to the phenomenon of ‘tonicimmobility’ when the shark goes into a hypnotic trance after Mike touches its head in a certain way. He had already tested his theory on a small lemon shark and reef sharks in the Caribbean before doing the same with a tiger shark off the coast of Mozambique.
Now his goal is to enter the trance and the Great White Shark! Well, let's see.
Author: Irina Martens
Author's personal page:www.personalguide.ru/guides outside/195/747/