‘AI or real?': Woman becomes ‘friend' with great white shark, hugs ‘largest predatory fish' in viral video

Indian Express

17-06-2025

When it comes to deadly predators of the sea, few creatures spark as much fear and fascination as the Great White Shark. Known for their sheer power and dominance in the ocean, these giants are usually something people prefer to admire from a safe distance. But every once in a while, someone comes along and decides to rewrite the rulebook on what's possible with wildlife.
That's exactly what a now-viral video seems to capture.
Recently, a jaw-dropping video surfaced online showing a woman not just swimming near a great white shark — but actually hugging it. The clip, which quickly gained traction on Instagram, claimed that this wasn't just a random stunt. According to the caption, the woman had apparently been carrying out an 'experiment' off the coast of Tahiti since 2018, trying to build a kind of personal relationship with the predator.
The caption described her method as something called 'Predictive Reciprocity Conditioning (PRC)', with the ambitious goal of building 'an interpersonal bond' with the massive creature. The shark, who she reportedly named 'Dante,' was said to have been a juvenile at the start of the experiment.
'She spent every week diving with the same juvenile great white. She called him 'Dante.' No food. No spears. No protective cage. Just gentle energy and stillness. The goal was to create a non-threatening pattern that the shark would eventually begin to associate with safety,' the post claimed.
According to the caption, by the 21st month, Dante had apparently stopped circling her warily and began swimming straight up to her. 'By month 30, he let her touch his snout — something never documented this clearly in the wild without reinforcement feeding,' it added.
In an even bolder claim, the post said researchers from OceanX and BlueZone Institute later reviewed her footage and data. They supposedly observed similar patterns in three other great whites from the same region, lending some weight to the theory that sharks might actually be capable of forming trust-based relationships with humans.
A post shared by Ziad Wael 'The Baby Hitman' (@ziad_zebra)
The video was posted by Instagram user 'ziad_zebra' and has racked up over 382,000 likes in just two days.
But while the clip wowed many viewers, plenty of people were skeptical about whether any of it was real. Some pointed fingers at AI, while others demanded hard proof.
One user joked, 'AI is going to get a lot of us white people k*lled,' while another said bluntly, 'Everyone realises this is AI right??? This is not real at all….I'm really worried how many people think this is actually real. Fake AI video and fake story.'
A third chimed in, 'For anyone curious, I looked this up online and there are no reliable sources or sites to say this is true. Until we see some citations from the author, let's not share it as fact.'
Another added with a hint of worry, 'Now everyone gonna try to find a shark and pet it.'