Rick Anderson is a scuba diving instructor from Port Macquarie, two hours north of Sydney, Australia.
On a dive six years ago he befriended a young Port Jackson shark, which is now fully grown at 1.8 meters (5′ 10″).
The pair are great friends who regularly take selfies together.
In an Instagram post Anderson wrote: “Who says wild animals don’t want to interact with humans. I have been playing with this little girl for the past six years since she was only eight inches long she is now fully grown at 1.8 meters. Since she has become familiar with me I can just swim near her with my arms out and she will swim onto them and chill out. Sharks are awesome.”
Port Jackson Sharks are typical to southern Australian waters and usually live in rocky environments near the bottom of the ocean.
Unlike other sharks, their teeth are small and blunt, to grind the shells of molluscs they can feed on after sucking in water and sand from the ocean floor and blowing the waste out their gills.
It’s for this reason the shark is considered harmless to humans, although the teeth, whilst not sharp, can give a painful bite.
Here are some other photos of Anderson and his Port Jackson pal.
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