Armed with absolutely nothing, not
even diving equipment, this model dived 50ft into the Atlantic Ocean to
swim with a shoal of the most dangerous sharks in the world.
Hannah
Fraser risked her life as she dances with tiger sharks off the coast of
the Bahamas in a bid to show the animals’ true nature.
However, the 38-year-old had to keep in constant motion in order to stop the 16ft long sharks from eating her alive.
Hannah, who was born in England but
now lives in LA, said goodbye to her family in case she did not return
from the ultimate dangerous feat.
The
model undertook the dangerous swim without a mask and fins, to oppose
the culling of tiger sharks, which are a threatened species due to
finning and fishing by humans.
Amazing
footage, shot by Emmy award-winning cinematographer Shawn Heinrichs,
shows Hannah dancing on the bottom of the seabed with the sharks
swimming around her.
The
whole process took five days to shoot and is part of an upcoming
documentary called Tears Of A Mermaid, and the short video so far
released was edited while the team were all still aboard the boat.
'All
of the groundbreaking short films and amazing photographs Shawn and I
have created have been aimed at inspiring change and creating direct
action for ocean conservation,' Hannah revealed.
Hannah,
who can hold her breath for up to two minutes and swim to depths of 45
feet, is even seen resting her hand on the head of a huge tiger shark
and touching their tails and fins.
She
underwent vigorous physical and emotional training to prepare herself
for the event, and at any given time there were 10-12 cameras filming
her interactions with the sharks.
The massive marine mammals appear oblivious to her presence as she dances and twirls on the bottom of the ocean.
She said: ‘I was feeling very anxious the first time I got in the water with the tiger sharks.
‘The
most important aspect was knowing how their minds worked, finding out
what triggered them to use their mouths and teeth to inspect or react to
situations and how to avoid doing any of those actions or movements.
‘We
avoided wearing anything light coloured because that may catch their
eye and look like a little fish, causing them to bite by accident.
‘I
learned how to touch them in the right way to allow a connection that
they felt comfortable with, and amazingly enough, I found out that they
actually love being tickled on the nose.’
Photographer
Shawn said: ‘What made this shoot entirely unique was that Hannah was
devoid of any scuba or free-dive gear, dressed only in a tiny costume
and airbrush body paint to create the perfect artistic vision.
‘Without
mask, fins or any sort of protective gear, she had to rely solely on
her skills, training and experience, along with the diligent support of
her expert team, to ensure the shoot went off without a hitch.
‘There was no room for error, as one mistake could have resulted in severe injury or worse.
‘Despite
the risks, the team was resolute in their mission to create the most
groundbreaking imagery to oppose not only the Australia shark cull, but
also the global slaughter of sharks.’
Hannah
added: ‘Many people have asked me why I would put my life on the line
to do this, especially for dangerous predatory sharks.
‘I
feel that all animals play an essential role in keeping our ocean
ecosystems in balance.
'We humans have a history of annihilating anything
we see as a competition, so much so that we are now threatening our
very existence on this planet.
‘I
advocate for greater understanding and awareness for all sea creatures,
and hope to inspire people to see that sharks, despite being one of the
world's most effective predators, are also intelligent, and magnificent
animals worthy of protection.
‘We
are currently killing over 100million sharks per year, whereas there
are only five reported human fatalities by sharks per year worldwide.
'Who are the real dangerous predators in this equation?’
Tiger
sharks can grow up to 16ft long and are found in tropical waters. They
are nocturnal hunters and eat fish, seals, bird and turtles.
'They are
captured and killed for their fins, flash and liver
Over
100 million sharks are killed by humans every year. There are around 15
shark fatalities to humans globally around the world each year.
-dailymail
