Cristina Zenato

Cristina Zenato Instagram – Day 8 Question 8
Fear of Sharks
It is undisputed that often the sound of the word “shark” throws people into a fronzy of fear, and when we inquire a little more, most of them have never been in an encounter.
I have overheard kids playing in the pool, imagining sharks’ presence and the dangers associated with these animais.
Fear of a predator is natural; this is how our ancestors survived and allowed us to arrive here. At the same time, the foar of sharke is more profound than the reality of these creatures.
I see that our incapability to conquer their world causes fear.
We are used to expanding in any environment on land, but in the ocean?
We cannot see, we cannot breathe, we cannot swim at any considerable speed compared to its inhabitants, we have limited heat conservation capabilities and can die of hypothermia within hours even in the warmest of waters, we cannot use anything in the water to our advantage, there is no drinking, no shelter, no defense.
Wo are left powerless, and that is scary, yes. Still, it is also triggering these deep, unfounded phobias, making people who live in a city barely go swimming. completely and utterly terrified of sharks. Meanwhile, they think nothing of taking the road on a five-lane highway at an average speed of 80 miles per hour with thousands more cars zipping by them.
The fear of sharks has been incorrectly fueled by the media, which heightens the exposure of one bite versus the millions and millions of people who take to the water daily, have sharks around them (most likely without knowing), and are not part of the story.
Sharks are portrayed as villains, monsters, bloodthirsty, mindless creatures in movies, stories, and even cartoons. While those contribute to the negative perception of sharks, ultimately, we seo them portrayed the same in those programs that are supposed to change our perception and educate. This la whore wo should change the narrative, not the fiction.
We need a more educated and natural approach to sharks’ lives, a wider portrayal of all the species that live in the ocean, and a retum to sharka’ natural status: breathing, thinking, sentient beings, the keystones of their ecosystems.
📸 @kewinlorenzen | Posted on 18/May/2024 17:07:29