And for my next trick: Christina Zenato 'balances' a Caribbean reef shark in her hand after coaxes it into a trance-like stateThis is the jaws-dropping moment a scuba diver literally holds a 10ft shark in the palm of her hand.
Italian diver Cristina Zenato can clearly be seen doing what many would believe unthinkable - stroking, touching and holding a large ocean predator in tropical Caribbean waters.
The animal is so at ease with her it goes into a trance state, allowing Ms Zenato to hold it vertically in the water with its nose in her hand.
Smile for the camera: Ms Zenato rubs jelly-filled pores around the sharks' nose and mouth to induce an almost sleep-like stateShe induces the 'tonic' state in the shark using a little-known technique of rubbing the ampullae of Lorenzini - the name given to hundreds of jelly-filled pores around the animal's nose and mouth.
A 'tonic' state is where a shark enters a natural state of paralysis, often by being turned upside down, for up to 15 minutes.
The pores act as electroreceptors detecting prey moving in the electromagnetic field around the shark - but also for some reason rubbing them turns 'Jaws' into a sleeping baby.
'It was totally relaxing to watch the sharks swim slow circles around us in hopes of being fed by Cristina. I was in awe and could not keep the smile off my face.
'Sharks are the apex predator of the ocean and it is a privilege to be near them and observe them in their world.'
source: dailymail
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