Incredible images of a real-life ‘shark whisperer’

Don’t try this at home, folks. Amazing photos show a “shark whisperer” controlling one of the deadliest predators on the planet in the waters of French Polynesia.

It looks foolhardy, if not downright insane, but for 34-year-old French Polynesian tour operator Pierrick Seybald, interacting with tiger sharks is all in a day’s work.

Tiger sharks are renowned for being the unfussiest eaters of all shark species, with a diet that sometimes extends to human beings. (Tiger, bull and great white sharks are regarded as the “big three” responsible for the most fatal attacks on humans.)

While common in Australian coastal waters, these tiger sharks were photographed in a lagoon in the Tuamotus Islands of French Polynesia, home to the infamous Moruroa Atoll, site of French nuclear testing in the 1970s and 1990s.

Mr Seybald has been diving his entire life, but only started getting up close with tiger sharks in 2016.

“I’m a shark safety diver and I do shark feeding in specific areas to attract sharks and provide a great experience for my guests,” he said.

“We have a place … where we study the behaviour of the tiger shark population. This place is maybe one of the best in the world to observe tiger sharks.

“Sometimes you can have more than 10 tiger sharks in the water in competition for food and they often come to challenge you. No beginners or guests can go there, just very experienced shark divers.

“When these big female tiger sharks come to challenge me with their mouth open I have to be ready to control or redirect them.

“They don’t really want to attack me and just want to show me their dominance. If a shark really wanted to attack me, trust me, I would not be here today. Sharks are very smart and they know we are not at all in their food chain.”

The statistics on tiger shark attack fatalities might challenge that claim, but some researchers believe the animals can sense the “unnatural” fibres of diving suits, making their wearers seem like an unappealing meal solution.

“Their diet is really varied,” said Rob Townsend, display manager at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium. “They will eat anything from sea birds to large fish to marine mammals.

“I call them the labradors of their sea - not because they are friendly but because they will eat anything,” he said.

Usually solitary in nature, the tiger shark was not often kept in captivity, although some had been maintained at Sea World on the Gold Coast from time to time, Mr Townsend said.

“They’re so omnivorous, it’s hard to keep anything else in the tank with them,” he said.

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The shark whisperer Pierrick Seybald, a former spearfisher, redirects huge tiger sharks with just his hands. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

Seybald and his team interact with 20 known tiger sharks. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

Seybald manipulates the snout, containing the ‘ampullae of Lorenzini’, to control the fearsome animals. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

The shark on its back is a sure sign that it has entered the state known as ‘tonic immobility’. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

Tonic immobility is sometimes referred to as ‘animal hypnosis’. The effect is only temporary. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

Mr Seybald and his research team have identified 20 individual tiger sharks in the lagoon, ranging from tiddlers (less than two metres) to a fully grown adult female who is nearly four metres in length.

Females are larger than males — one as large as five and a half metres has been reported — and the stripes that give the animals their name fade as they mature.

These photos show the shark whisperer controlling the animals by holding their snouts, stimulating the sensitive nerve endings known as the ampullae of Lorenzini. This induces a state called tonic immobility, a temporary paralysis found in many animal species, which some scientists also believe occurs in humans undergoing trauma.

Mr Townsend said tonic immobility was a technique quite often used on captive animals, and many people would have seen its effect on chickens.

“We do need to be careful, though, as it does stress the animal and can interfer with their blood pressure.”

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Jaws of death. Seybald says the animal bares its teeth to show its dominance. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

There are 489 species of shark in the world: tiger sharks are one of the ‘big three’, responsible for the most attacks on humans. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

Seybald swims with a tiddler in the water off Tuamotu Island. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

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The evolutionary basis for tonic immobility is uncertain — some think it may have a role in mating — but it certainly enables Mr Seybald to exercise amazing control over these monsters of the deep.

“With my eco-tourism business MooreaMoanaTours I show my guests how amazing it is to observe sharks and swim with them. After that their fear often disappears and their idea of sharks totally changes,” he said.

“I want people to love sharks, protect sharks, swim with them but also show them that a shark stays a shark.

“Some situations in shark feeding can be complicated and people have to go with professionals to avoid accidents. Accidents always reinforce the bad reputation that sharks have and increase the numbers being killed.”

See www.maomanafoundation.com for more.

This shot shows the distinctive stripes that give the tiger shark its name. The stripes fade the older the animal gets. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

The shark whisperer freedives, using just flippers, snorkel and mask. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope

Putty in his hands. Don’t try this at home. Picture: Cam Grant/Pierrick Seybald/Australscope