Ramsey, who has been swimming with sharks for more than 20 years, is passionate about shark conservation and aims to change the stigma surrounding the ocean predators. Her calm demeanor after coming face to face with a massive tiger shark that appeared to lunge at her might just do that.
The viral video, dual-posted on Saturday to Instagram by Ramsey and shark photographer Juan Oliphant, shows Ramsey preparing to dive when a massive tiger shark leaps out of the water. Ramsey reeled back in time for the shark’s open jaws to graze her flippers.
Ramsey is actually quite familiar with the 16-foot-long shark. According to a follow-up post about the incident, she revealed that she has actually dived with the shark, who she named Queen Nikki, for decades.
While she and Queen Nikki share a long friendship, Ramsey admitted that she entered the water too quickly and the shark responded to her actions. But she greeted the shark in excitement once she was clear of danger.
“Hi, Nikki!” Ramsey said in the video just as the shark leaped out of the water.
Ramsey and Oliphant approached the encounter lightheartedly. According to the Instagram post, Ramsey knew when to “respectfully back up.”
“I love that tiger shark, I grew up with that tiger shark,” Ramsey said in an interview with Today on Tuesday morning. “I think we were teenagers at the same time together.”
“I jumped in the water too fast,” Ramsey said. “And she totally, she reacted to that. She was close enough with enough speed that it looked like she was actually going at maybe my fin tips. I could see her speed. I knew I needed to back off in that moment.”
Ramsey made it clear that although sharks are predators, people often have the wrong idea and villainize them.
“We can coexist, it just needs to be done with respect for their important role as apex predators, they are not monsters,” Ramsey wrote on Instagram. “I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about sharks, or [Nikki], she’s incredible and also usually the most dominant individual of course.”
Ramsey compared the shark to an “old grandma” keeping the “spunky young ones in check.”
She also offered advice to swimmers, suggesting they avoid murky water when possible, minimize splashing and opt to not wear bright, high-contrast clothing. If someone is purposefully shark diving, Ramsey urged them to dangle a brightly colored object so the shark has an “eye-catching target” that isn’t the swimmer.
Newsweek reached out to Ramsey for comment.
