A diver has been pictured hand-feeding a in the ocean as he aims to prove we can "coexist" with the predators.
The images show the hammerhead sharks eating off the east coast of as they are given food by professional Nick Lambardo. He insists that despite their fierce reputation, hammerhead sharks are typically shy, and feeding them a piece of bait is the only way to get this shark to come close to a group of divers.
The hammerhead is the largest of the nine identified species of this shark. It can grow up to 20 feet in length and weigh up to 1,000 pounds, although smaller sizes are more common. Their wide-set eyes give them a better visual range than most other sharks, and by spreading their highly specialised sensory organs over their wide, mallet-shaped head, they can more thoroughly scan the ocean for food.
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These captivating images were taken by 38-year-old wildlife photographer Josh Schellenberg with the help of a Nikon camera in a Nauticam housing (used to protect equipment underwater) and two Inon strobes to help light the area.
“When the shark came in for the feeding, the first thing I did was look for a falling tooth,” he said, "Sharks constantly lose teeth when they eat, and to a shark diver, that is our pirates' gold. To me, shots like these show viewers we can be next to a shark eating and be completely fine.
“I think a lot of people who haven’t spent any time around sharks think that they will just try and eat a human if they see one, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Images like this show we can coexist with sharks. On average, over 100 million sharks are killed each year, and the shark population has declined.
“In most cases, 90% of sharks are the white blood cells to the ocean, and if sharks go extinct, then the ocean will slowly die, killing off the biggest supplier of oxygen on our planet. We need to do our bit to save these beautiful species. Being close to sharks for me is calming. You are in the moment. It’s a way to get away from the stress of life. Sharks don’t care about what’s going on in the . There is no negativity. To me, it’s peaceful."
