Cristina Zenato loves the Bahamas and its sharks, but after watching the accompanying footage some might think the veteran diver is carrying this passion a bit too far.
Zenato recently began removing fishing hooks from the sharks as they gather around dive sites, after placing her patients into a state of tonic immobility–a sort of hypnosis that occurs when sharks are flipped onto their backs or when their faces are caressed.
And the video she uploaded Tuesday (posted below) reveals how tricky this practice can be.
She places her entire right hand and part of her arm fully into the mouth of a shark, and just as the shark becomes agitated, Zenato clutches and extracts the hook.
The shark thanks her with a slap of the tail to the face, but she and a companion celebrate a successful hook removal with a hug.
Earlier she had posted a photo of a very large fishing hook, freshly removed from a shark, with this comment: "Here goes the last hook in the sharks... removed today... at least till next time. Sharks will be sharks and bite down on any available lure they love to keep me busy."Zenato, who lives in the Bahamas, has always worked to protect the region's sharks. In 2010 she teamed with filmmaker Joe Romeiro to produce a fund-raising video titled Nina Salerosa.
If you enjoyed Cristina Zenato, DDS, at work, you're sure to enjoy Zenato the shark whisperer, put to beautiful music:
Fantastic!
Posted by: Mary Silcox | Aug 20, 2013 at 12:55 PM