Close Shark Encounters

by Emily Sohn  
photo: Mauricio Handler/ handlerphoto.com/solent
It's almost Shark Week, and coincidentally, there's been a spate of human-shark interactions already this summer.
The first happened near Isla Mujeres, Mexico. During a feeding frenzy for more than 600 whale sharks, Maine-based photographer Mauricio Handler caught a heart-thumping moment on film, as another photographer came close to getting sucked into the jaws of a hungry whale shark.
With its 5-foot wide mouth gaping open, the shark was aiming to catch plankton, not people. Even if it had ended up with a human snack, it would have likely spit the swimmer out, according to the Daily Mail. Whale sharks are notoriously docile. They also have terrible eyesight.
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