Daredevils turn sharks into yachts

Teenager Chris Kreis of Florida (USA) desperately drove whale sharks and returned to the video when fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

This rare sight occurred on June 8, when the 19-year-old Kreis sailed out fishing about 48km from Captiva.

When Kreis saw the whale shark, he jumped into the sea and clung to the dorsal fin of an elephant shark. After that, he "drove" this special means of transport for about 20 seconds and then removed his hand for the animal to freely swim.

Kreis uploaded a video of him driving a whale ' shark ' on YouTube and quickly attracted 100,000 viewers since posting it on June 12.

"When I started grabbing the dorsal fin of the whale shark, I first felt that it was still moving as if it was unknown to have a companion. But after that, it seemed to discover and didn't really want me there. So I put my hand out for it to swim alone , 'Kreis shared his experience of 'driving' sharks in an interview with local television channel NBC 2.

Images of Chris Kreis driving whale sharks off the Gulf of Mexico last week.

Whale sharks are the largest fish living in the ocean. Although it has a dangerous name and figure, they actually eat plankton and small fish.

While whale sharks are not considered to be at risk and riding is a violation of the law, according to National Geographic, this is a vulnerable species because it is still the subject of hunting by Philippine fishermen.

Marine biologist Bruce Neill said that whale sharks could be injured if we cling to the fins and "drive" them.

"When people spend a lot of time and putting pressure on a fish, it will cause whale sharks to lose a protective membrane. They are very important in making the" shield "say. health of this fish , "said Neill.

When asked about this, Kreis shared that he did not know that such an act would affect the health of whale sharks.

"I will still jump into the sea again if I see whale sharks but will not touch them ," Kreis said.