Sharks, particularly Great Whites, have a pretty bad rep. The apex predators are often labelled as man-eaters based on a handful of out of context events. Photographer Daniel Botelho spent two weeks with the ancient beasts and returned with what he calls “definitive proof” that they don’t deserve the label or the association.

Botelho was on assignment for Disney near Guadalupe Island, a remote island off Mexico, while also serving as a safety diver for a Big Animals Expeditions odyssey to the island. The latter gave him unprecedented access to Great Whites and allowed him to see them in an entirely new light. He wrote of the experience, and his role as a safety diver, on his Facebook page:

White sharks are like the Lion King. Predators, yes, but not psychopathic man killers.

The safety diver is the guy that takes care of everybody in the water, a bodyguard of the guests, and that doesn’t mean to be brave; not at all, it is much more about keeping a relaxed and peaceful interaction with the animals.

The sharks are like dogs; you need to keep them calm. As dogs, they can get excited with wrong moves and unstable attitudes, so the trick is to keep the right attitude, transmitting tranquility and peace to the animal, so it can come really close but not try to touch the diver.

Botelho has been diving with white sharks since 2006 and during this two-week expedition he logged close to 24 hours in the water with the sharks, sans cage. At any given time there was never more than three divers outside of the cage; Botelho, the expedition leader and a single guest. Sometimes there were as many as six great whites around them, venturing ever closer to the divers.

This is the definitive proof that great white sharks are not man-eaters; people can live and interact with great white sharks, as long as they have the understanding of how the animal reacts and how to build a positive interaction with this magnificent creature!

It [the expedition] was one of the best dives of my life and the experience as safety diver out of the cage was incredible. It is much more than just taking photos; I learned so much more about how to ‘read’ and interact with those apex predators.

Daniel is an award winning photojournalist and champion for whales and sharks. You can see more of his amazing work on his website, here.

[Source: GrindTV]