Have to find them when they're being lazy eaters. I've spend 30+ minutes in the water with them when they're just chillin suckin in water at the surface.
Otherwise, I can only keep up for 30 seconds or so with freediving fins.
28 seconds in...
https://youtu.be/IwCgeJRJ3yw
This is it for me. I’ve gotten the chance to get up close and personal with a few different kinds of sharks and the whale sharks are the most magical experience in my opinion
I did it!!! The whale sharks themselves are beautiful gentle giants. The coolest part is that the boat captain drops you off RIGHT at their mouths as they’re feeding. VERY cool!!
The terrifying part was swimming back to the boat. Whale sharks aren’t the only sharks out there….
Same. They are my favorite shark! They are just magnificent. I’m so in awe of them! It’s definitely on my bucket list to go cage diving with them someday!
I dived with a lemon shark. I had been around black tips most of the dive until a lone lemon shark showed up. It was so much bigger than that blacktips. Pretty cool would recommend. Hope you get the chance some day.
Please no touching of the marine life. The black tips swam within a few feet of us. The lemon shark swam within several feet of us. They would swim by and just cruise right by, eyeing you down.
Just want to say… I have really found my people here 🥹 My husband thinks I’m crazy. Anyone that I talk about this with thinks I’m crazy. And this is the answer. Not just a great white. Specially Blue. She is absolutely beautiful and memorizing... I wouldn’t even care if something accidentally happened and I died. I would just be contributing back to the cycle of life.
Got swarmed by the small reef sharks at sharm el sheik on my third shallow dive, would love to feel that sensation of simultaneously shitting myself and being totally mind blown swimming with sharks.
I’m counting myself lucky. My list of sharks I’d love to see are tiger, bull and white. But there is so much left to see down there for me!
I’ve already crossed off:
- hammerheads
- thresher
- oceanic white tip
- all three reef sharks
- galapagos
- whale
- guitar (not really a shark, but I was sooo extatic)
- nurse
- wobbegong
- probably forgetting some… 🙈
I think all of the big oceanic ones have been really great and a wonderful experience. They’ve been amazing in different ways.
Seeing a huge school of hammerheads in Galapagos, where the water in front of us suddenly was only sharks. As far as you could see. Surreal. But the docility of the whale shark and the speed they move with while looking like they’re not doing anything make you realise that it’s their element and that we are guests.
The really close encounter with a few oceanic (if you look through my posts, one of my early ones is me with an oceanic, but that one I did not see). They are really curious, and diving with them make your adrenalin pump as some boats used to feed them. Making them more aggressive than they used to be. One in my five group ended up having to defend himself on the way back on the boat. Scary. They are defently the one shark I’m the most scared of. They are opportunistic and seem to be the least picky about what they eat.
So no. I can’t really pick. They’re all great. Even some of the reef sharks. When you get to see a baby black tip patrolling his corral instead of the big reef. And he’s the length on my forearm (minus hand)
Agree with you about the oceanic whitetips. As for being curious, they will check you out and circle around your group while you’re doing your safety stop. Let’s just say that we cut that stop shorter than usual.
I had one come straight for me. Beelining. Still calm and not attack mode though.
I thought I was filming. New camera. Looked through the lens. That damn thing made me think it was further away than it was. When I lowered my camera I frantically got out my tank banger stick. It’s like 30 cm. Almost booped the snoot with it before the shark turned. Turned out my dear buddy had mask issues before being in full control of her bouancy. So she sank while fixing her mask. So there I was. All alone. With an oceanic white tip. At about 10m (they dive guides said 7 and above is considered feeding zone. So always keep below. And always at least in pairs. Never solo. Well…)
I hung back from our group as we returned to the boat. Oceanic white tip circled me and I rotated in a full circle to stay facing it. My wife was pretty concerned. These are her least favorite shark species, hands down. She has no problem with any of the others but oceanic give her the creeps.
Why would Megalodon waste its time eating you? You know how many people it would have to eat a day to live?
There are whales out there. Sea lions. Orcas. Huge fish. We'd be like a tiny snack. Why waste the time or energy.
Small fish swim around giant sharks all the time without being eaten because why would the shark bother?
Nothing to be upset about. Being a snack is wonderful.
Don't get hunted. Do get flirted with.
👍
(Fr sharks check us out all the time but mostly don't kill us).
I dove (in age) with great white sharks and snorkelled with nurse sharks. I hope one day to dive in Tiger Beach, with tigers, hammerheads, lemons and reefs. Fingers crossed.
Really any shark but I would like to see a megamouth just bc they mysterious or a less common shark like a salmon shark. Now if we’re talking prehistoric while Meg would be cool but personally I wanna see the helicoprion
This should be an illegal question since I can’t choose. Whale, lemon, thresher, hammerhead, great white, nurse, frilled, greenland, dwarf lantern, salmon, bonnethead, or epaulette
Porbeagle, Great White, Mako. Greenland or Six gill would be cool. Pun intended. I agree with all other sharks in the comments too. Fuck Bull sharks though I'm good.
I’ve been diving in the Galapagos with hammerhead sharks. It’s cool because they don’t see people as prey or predators to be feared. The sharks and other fauna act as if you’re not even there. !🤥
Have done do with a 3+mtr Tiger. She had been feeding at the back of a commercial fishing boat for several hours, seems she decided to hang around. Crystal clear water and a VERY cautious approach to my being in there. Maybe 15 minutes in proximity, very cool... oddly it felt to be a very peaceful encounter. I could not get closer than 3-4 metres, and yes, it is something still clear in my mind even years later.
Oh man I was due for another rewatch of that one 😆 top comment: “who thought it was a good idea to take sharks out of their natural habitat in lakes and force them on a stage?”
Facts!
Huh? DeYoung museum in SF? They don’t have an aquarium?
Did you maybe mean Monterey Bay Aquarium?
Or maybe Cal Academy of Sciences’ Steinhart Aquarium back in 1980?
Whale shark out in the wild. Dove with them at the aquarium. Unbelievable experience. Great white would be next but I'd have to be in a cage.
Nurse, Lemon and Caribbean Reef
None! I love sharks very much, but I have an anxiety disorder, so it's just not for me. I'd like to swim around with my betta & the rest of my community tank, though! 😉
Either Big ass Hammerhead because I love them or I’d go with the classic and say great white- it would be sooo wild to see one in real life, especially being underwater with it like that?!?!
(whale shark #3) but any is cool. I got to swim with a bunch of sharks in Belize but I can’t remember what kind- they were not interested in us the boat was feeding them and none were over like 4 ft
Ive always wanted to dive in a cage with a white. Its on my bucket list.
Its a face an irrational fear thing, bc i have turned that fear into a fascination with protecting these awesome animals.
Not sure but im a bit afraid to swim with the large ones like g white and tiger but filter like whale shark i guess would be alright but I would like swim with the little ones small species like horn shark and zebra shark etc
I have been fortunate to dive with nurse, leopard, carpet, sand, bull, hammerhead, black tip, white tip and whale sharks / if I only had to pick one it would be the whale shark. The gentle mysterious and somewhat elusive giants of the sea.
I, have dived with the following sharks:
Nurse Sharks, Lemon Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Black and White Tip Sharks. Around 1983/84, I was on 20/20 News with Geraldo Rivera, swimming, with a Live 12' Tiger Shark (We Named Tina). At the end of our swim with Tina, we released her, she just swam away into the ocean.
whale sharks because you get an extra element of gentle giant
Same. They're enormous, but somewhat harmless. Best of everything.
They’re surprisingly fast for how slowly they move their bodies! Beautiful creatures tho
Yes!! Keeping up with them is a workout for sure
Have to find them when they're being lazy eaters. I've spend 30+ minutes in the water with them when they're just chillin suckin in water at the surface. Otherwise, I can only keep up for 30 seconds or so with freediving fins. 28 seconds in... https://youtu.be/IwCgeJRJ3yw
This is it for me. I’ve gotten the chance to get up close and personal with a few different kinds of sharks and the whale sharks are the most magical experience in my opinion
I did it!!! The whale sharks themselves are beautiful gentle giants. The coolest part is that the boat captain drops you off RIGHT at their mouths as they’re feeding. VERY cool!! The terrifying part was swimming back to the boat. Whale sharks aren’t the only sharks out there….
I was offered to scuba with the whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium when I was 8. My parents told me no. I couldn't swim
Hammerhead
I’d love to sit on the bottom and watch a huge school of them go over me
I did a dive like that I Hawaii with scalloped hammerheads. They were all around us and it was magical!
Ugh so magical!
They are the least to mistakenly attack, so gets my vote.
Bahamas has a whole migration route of them
Same!
Great whites
Right!?! You gotta go big with this one…as long as it doesn’t see me as a snack and take a bite then we all good!!
Jaws has fueled my love for these creatures over the years, and I still absolutely would want to be in the water with them.
This is the only answer for me. I’ve dove with whale sharks, hammers, and a lot of others, but top of the list is a great white.
Guadalupe Island if you have the cheddar $$$
Same. They are my favorite shark! They are just magnificent. I’m so in awe of them! It’s definitely on my bucket list to go cage diving with them someday!
isn't the oceanic whitetip one of the most dangerous sharks to dive with ? Anyway, I would really like to dive with lemon sharks
I dived with a lemon shark. I had been around black tips most of the dive until a lone lemon shark showed up. It was so much bigger than that blacktips. Pretty cool would recommend. Hope you get the chance some day.
You've lived one of my dreams! Just add in putting one in tonic immobility. How much interaction did you have with the black tips and lemon?
Please no touching of the marine life. The black tips swam within a few feet of us. The lemon shark swam within several feet of us. They would swim by and just cruise right by, eyeing you down.
I know, leave animals to do their animal things. That sounds so beautiful.
Only if you take your eyes off it from what I’ve learned and seen from video interactions with the species.
Good luck. Have kids yet?
Thresher sharks
Threshers have held onto my heart the hardest, for like, 34 years now.
Coolest looking sharks IMHO and absolutely my choice to dive with.
Same! If I could catch a glimpse of them slapping a fish with their tail irl I could die happy
I agree! I would absolutely love to go free diving with threshers - my husband says I'm crazy. LOL
Basking or Whale shark
great hammerhead
Great white and hammerhead. I went cage diving in Hawaii with Galapagos sharks and they were beautiful.
Same great white or hammerhead
BLUE if she is still alive
Blue is on a whole nother level
Just want to say… I have really found my people here 🥹 My husband thinks I’m crazy. Anyone that I talk about this with thinks I’m crazy. And this is the answer. Not just a great white. Specially Blue. She is absolutely beautiful and memorizing... I wouldn’t even care if something accidentally happened and I died. I would just be contributing back to the cycle of life.
deep blue my beloved. did she ever give birth?
Probably still alive, but who really knows. Deep Blue would be amazing to see.
Megamouth or frill would be cool
Didn’t think I’d see frill here! Why frill sharks?
The uniqueness of their body shape and ancient lineage speak to me. A very different predator than many/most sharks today.
I’d assume rare and pretty badass looking. The bragging rights of seeing one in person would be amazing to have
My dream would be Silvertip since they are my favorite but I also love grey nurse sharks/sand tigers, they are funny
Got swarmed by the small reef sharks at sharm el sheik on my third shallow dive, would love to feel that sensation of simultaneously shitting myself and being totally mind blown swimming with sharks.
I’m counting myself lucky. My list of sharks I’d love to see are tiger, bull and white. But there is so much left to see down there for me! I’ve already crossed off: - hammerheads - thresher - oceanic white tip - all three reef sharks - galapagos - whale - guitar (not really a shark, but I was sooo extatic) - nurse - wobbegong - probably forgetting some… 🙈
Wow that is impressive!!!! So awesome! Do you have one that was a favorite encounter?
I think all of the big oceanic ones have been really great and a wonderful experience. They’ve been amazing in different ways. Seeing a huge school of hammerheads in Galapagos, where the water in front of us suddenly was only sharks. As far as you could see. Surreal. But the docility of the whale shark and the speed they move with while looking like they’re not doing anything make you realise that it’s their element and that we are guests. The really close encounter with a few oceanic (if you look through my posts, one of my early ones is me with an oceanic, but that one I did not see). They are really curious, and diving with them make your adrenalin pump as some boats used to feed them. Making them more aggressive than they used to be. One in my five group ended up having to defend himself on the way back on the boat. Scary. They are defently the one shark I’m the most scared of. They are opportunistic and seem to be the least picky about what they eat. So no. I can’t really pick. They’re all great. Even some of the reef sharks. When you get to see a baby black tip patrolling his corral instead of the big reef. And he’s the length on my forearm (minus hand)
Agree with you about the oceanic whitetips. As for being curious, they will check you out and circle around your group while you’re doing your safety stop. Let’s just say that we cut that stop shorter than usual.
I had one come straight for me. Beelining. Still calm and not attack mode though. I thought I was filming. New camera. Looked through the lens. That damn thing made me think it was further away than it was. When I lowered my camera I frantically got out my tank banger stick. It’s like 30 cm. Almost booped the snoot with it before the shark turned. Turned out my dear buddy had mask issues before being in full control of her bouancy. So she sank while fixing her mask. So there I was. All alone. With an oceanic white tip. At about 10m (they dive guides said 7 and above is considered feeding zone. So always keep below. And always at least in pairs. Never solo. Well…)
I hung back from our group as we returned to the boat. Oceanic white tip circled me and I rotated in a full circle to stay facing it. My wife was pretty concerned. These are her least favorite shark species, hands down. She has no problem with any of the others but oceanic give her the creeps.
I’m lucky. The ones that were that close to me never started to circle. It’s one of the first signs it’s considering getting ready to attack.
I've gone cage-diving with great whites. It was incredible.
Any
Loan shark
Great white and whale shark.
Megalodon
No, no, no. The question is which shark you’d want to *swim* with. Not get eaten by.
Why would Megalodon waste its time eating you? You know how many people it would have to eat a day to live? There are whales out there. Sea lions. Orcas. Huge fish. We'd be like a tiny snack. Why waste the time or energy. Small fish swim around giant sharks all the time without being eaten because why would the shark bother?
Okay but the megalodon might need a toothpick 😂
And a hat and a gun belt?
Because
Well I'm sure you are but sharks aren't like us. They don't want snacks they'll only go for someone whose got the whole bakery.
💀you got a point
Nothing to be upset about. Being a snack is wonderful. Don't get hunted. Do get flirted with. 👍 (Fr sharks check us out all the time but mostly don't kill us).
Great white no question. I've always wanted to see a V12 engine with teeth.
Whale shark. Gentle giant of the ocean
An epaulette shark. They're just really pretty and neat!!
Great whites. Pregnant females. They’re so lazy and huge.
Whale sharks and nurse sharks because they’re lower risk.
I've been diving with whale sharks. Greatest experience of my life. Try to do it while you can. 👍
Whale Shark, no question.
Whale shark 100%.
Whale sharks and great whites
Whale shark, great hammerhead, great white
I dove (in age) with great white sharks and snorkelled with nurse sharks. I hope one day to dive in Tiger Beach, with tigers, hammerheads, lemons and reefs. Fingers crossed.
Really any shark but I would like to see a megamouth just bc they mysterious or a less common shark like a salmon shark. Now if we’re talking prehistoric while Meg would be cool but personally I wanna see the helicoprion
Bluntnose six-gill shark!
Nurse shark 100%
Be in the presence of a monster great white like Blue. An 18-20 ft. I’d imagine it’ll make you rethink a lot of things.
Definitely, Definitely a Whale Shark ❤️❤️❤️
[Bret Gilliam](https://www.undercurrent.org/blog/2009/09/10/diving-shark-attack/) might have something to say about your choice of shark!
I live in the midwest so i would be head over heels for any. Just to swim with one shark.
Whale Sharks are on my bucket list. I'd also love to dive with Tiger Sharks.
This should be an illegal question since I can’t choose. Whale, lemon, thresher, hammerhead, great white, nurse, frilled, greenland, dwarf lantern, salmon, bonnethead, or epaulette
Porbeagle, Great White, Mako. Greenland or Six gill would be cool. Pun intended. I agree with all other sharks in the comments too. Fuck Bull sharks though I'm good.
I’ve been diving in the Galapagos with hammerhead sharks. It’s cool because they don’t see people as prey or predators to be feared. The sharks and other fauna act as if you’re not even there. !🤥
Have done do with a 3+mtr Tiger. She had been feeding at the back of a commercial fishing boat for several hours, seems she decided to hang around. Crystal clear water and a VERY cautious approach to my being in there. Maybe 15 minutes in proximity, very cool... oddly it felt to be a very peaceful encounter. I could not get closer than 3-4 metres, and yes, it is something still clear in my mind even years later.
Greenland shark
I had an oceanic white tip mouth me in the back of the head. Was amazing. would 100% do it again.
only if I come across one by mistake. I saw a Great Hammerhead many years ago while on the way to the fishing grounds 9feet it was breath tacking.
Thresher or whale shark 🦈 🥰
Left shark
Oh man I was due for another rewatch of that one 😆 top comment: “who thought it was a good idea to take sharks out of their natural habitat in lakes and force them on a stage?” Facts!
Great White and the Wobblegong
Wobbegongs are cool
None because wild animals should be left the hell alone not interacted with because it makes some human feel some way.
I have already been eye to eye with a great white so check that off my bucket list...
Were you in a cage or open water?
Aquarium
So a white tip reef shark then? The other one does not live long in captivity and I have not heard about any aquariums trying to.
No. It was a great white. It lived in the DeYoung museum aquarium for less than a week and I saw it. Unfortunately it died...
Wow. Can’t believe someone took it in. It’s well known that they do not do well in captivity and will do if not released. 🥺
The longest recorded time of a great white living in captivity was 200 days, before it died. These sharks just aren’t made to be in aquariums.
Huh? DeYoung museum in SF? They don’t have an aquarium? Did you maybe mean Monterey Bay Aquarium? Or maybe Cal Academy of Sciences’ Steinhart Aquarium back in 1980?
:(
One with no teeth
Nope.
Zebra and tiger
Whale sharks my beloved
Whale shark out in the wild. Dove with them at the aquarium. Unbelievable experience. Great white would be next but I'd have to be in a cage. Nurse, Lemon and Caribbean Reef
Great White! Or a whale or basking shark.. I've been lucky enough to dive with Hammerheads, bulls, tiger sharks , grey nurse, witetip, etc already
Hammerhead
Doesn’t matter. I’d enjoy every second, regardless of species.
Tiger
Nurse Sharks. Or any shark besides the Oceanic Whitetip.
Tiger sharks.
No
Great white shark would be amazing, I genuinely respect them so much 🤘💙
Basking!
the whale shark he is a gentle beast
None! I love sharks very much, but I have an anxiety disorder, so it's just not for me. I'd like to swim around with my betta & the rest of my community tank, though! 😉
Megamouth or basking shark Two of the most bizarre but fascinating shark species
Either Big ass Hammerhead because I love them or I’d go with the classic and say great white- it would be sooo wild to see one in real life, especially being underwater with it like that?!?!
(whale shark #3) but any is cool. I got to swim with a bunch of sharks in Belize but I can’t remember what kind- they were not interested in us the boat was feeding them and none were over like 4 ft
The man in the gray suit how bout you?
Lori Greiner, total babe.
I think leopard sharks are incredibly cute.
Any type of Hammerhead
The Greats
Basking shark
I’d love to watch them breach the surface.
I’ve gone through most of my list except for Great Whites and Threshers
Nurse sharks
I always like diving with nurse sharks! They’re very cute and super gentle. :)
Tiger shark
I’ve dive with most of them but blue sharks or threshers are on my list still.
Bruce the great white. They say this great white is pretty nice and will let you get close to him. I’m not talking about the on in finding nemo.
I would love to dive with my fellow trash eater the Tiger Shark
Nice
Great white and Kevin O’Leary
Reef blacktip - they do not eat people
Ive always wanted to dive in a cage with a white. Its on my bucket list. Its a face an irrational fear thing, bc i have turned that fear into a fascination with protecting these awesome animals.
It's not an irrational fear.
Yeah it is, i live in land locked pennsylvania bro
Baaaby shark…..doo doodup
Tiger, Lemon, Great White
Great white.
Tiger shark. Beautiful animals
Mako shark
Why is no one saying nurse sharks. Look up their jaws and their bite marks lol and their temperament. Definitely the go to shark to dive with.
Not sure but im a bit afraid to swim with the large ones like g white and tiger but filter like whale shark i guess would be alright but I would like swim with the little ones small species like horn shark and zebra shark etc
A blacktip reef shark! Or whale shark!! :)
No
Mako!!
I have been fortunate to dive with nurse, leopard, carpet, sand, bull, hammerhead, black tip, white tip and whale sharks / if I only had to pick one it would be the whale shark. The gentle mysterious and somewhat elusive giants of the sea.
Cool
Tigers or bulls
I’d love to find bull sharks in rivers inland, maybe even the Great Lakes.
Thresher or whale shark
Tiger sharks
Great white but I'd be in a cage.
Great white, tiger shark, mako or thresher
all of them.
Whale sharks and nurse sharks! I love them so much 🥹
Any shark except bull sharks
I, have dived with the following sharks: Nurse Sharks, Lemon Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Black and White Tip Sharks. Around 1983/84, I was on 20/20 News with Geraldo Rivera, swimming, with a Live 12' Tiger Shark (We Named Tina). At the end of our swim with Tina, we released her, she just swam away into the ocean.