Florida Shark ride video draws mixed reaction

VIRAL video of a Florida teenager riding a whale shark by the dorsal fin has met with a mixed response online.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Jun 2013, 09:06 BST
A still from the video. Picture: YouTubeA still from the video. Picture: YouTube
A still from the video. Picture: YouTube

Chris Kreis is shown jumping from a boat and grabbing the fin of a 30ft long whale shark, before riding along in its wake for several seconds.

19-year-old Kreis told the local NBC TV station: “When I started holding on I felt the whale shark it started moving itself, it felt the drag and it didn’t really want me on there so I let go and that’s it.”

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Kreis’ video has been viewed over 380,000 times, but marine biologists and environmentalists have criticised the teen’s actions.

A still from the video. Picture: YouTubeA still from the video. Picture: YouTube
A still from the video. Picture: YouTube

By touching the shark’s skin, Kreis could have removed some of the covering on its skin which keeps it from becoming infected or damaged, and numerous YouTube commenters have pointed out that whale sharks are essentially harmless to humans unless physically manhandled.

Whale sharks survive on plankton, and are the largest breed of fish in the world.

Video: youtube.com/limitedoutfishing

Related topics:FloridaYouTube