| Beautiful demonstration of taming shark |
Whilst my eyes slowly wandered in my Biology lesson, I came a cross a 'Did you know' statement that my teacher made; it read - "If you turn a shark upside down, it will go into a trance-like state called tonic immobility for 15 minutes."
Well, the first thing that sprung to mind was, if I ever were to go snorkelling or diving and I happen to encounter a shark, I would know the exact solution for the situation. The most sensible thing to do is to flip it on its head and swim away safely... within 15 minutes.
After that thought, I decided to research into it a little; A brief definition of tonic immobility I found stated:
"Tonic immobility (TI) is an unlearned reflex, characterised by a state of immobility and torpor. This behaviour has been reported to occur in a variety of animals – including insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and fish."
It occurs to me that scientists have not truly discovered why this condition happens but the unnatural posture is believed to change the animal's 'semi-motor interchange with the environment'. It is always thought to be a way for protection but evidences suggest that some predators are using this to an advantage whilst preying on others.
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