Incredible friendship: a dog and a nurse shark conquer the Internet (14 photos)

Recently, a touching story about an unusual friendship between a dog and a shark has been gaining popularity on the Internet. The main characters of this story are a dog named Lily and a mustachioed nurse shark named Sharky.





It is known that dogs are famous for their friendliness, but making friends with a shark is a new level of mutual understanding and acceptance! Carpet sharks, or nurse sharks, are not aggressive. Apparently, this is what attracted Lily.

Despite the seeming oddity of this couple, their touching relationship quickly won the hearts of millions of Internet users. Videos and photos of Lily and Sharky playing and relaxing together became a real hit on social networks.

Sometimes the friendships that happen by chance are the strongest and most true



Lily started swimming in the lagoon near her home when she was just a month old and has loved the water ever since, despite having to share it with nurse sharks





Atoll Dweller Fakarava, French Polynesia, Emmanuelle Larcher got her dog Lily about 3 years ago. Lily has loved water since she was a baby. She started swimming in the lagoon next to her home when she was no more than a month old.



Yes, many dogs love to swim, but this very lagoon is home to about 100 sharks. And yet, Lily not only doesn’t mind, but also enjoys spending time in the water with them.



Lily loves to play with all the friendly nurse sharks that live in her lagoon. But she has a particularly close bond with one of them, Sharky. This shark comes to greet Lily almost every day, and then they go splashing around in the water and exploring the lagoon together.



Even though it sounds pretty dangerous, Lily is not at all afraid of her lagoon neighbors. Her owner, Emmanuelle Larcher, explains that nurse sharks are very calm and friendly creatures, which locals even call "sea puppies" for their sweet nature.



"When I see Lily swimming with Sharky, I am so happy," says Emmanuelle. She enjoys watching her dog and her shark friend play. They put on a real show every time Lily enters the water.



Sharks are truly very interesting and mysterious creatures. Few people know that this species of animals has existed on Earth for more than 400 million years, even surviving the era of dinosaurs. But in addition to their ancient history, sharks also play an important role in maintaining the ecological balance of our planet.



According to research published in the journal Ocean's Research News, sharks are a key link in preserving ocean biodiversity. By hunting the most abundant species of marine life, they allow other organisms to increase their numbers, thereby maintaining the health of the entire ecosystem.

What's more, sharks help remove a significant portion of the carbon that forms in the atmosphere. By feeding on dead animals on the ocean floor, they help utilize this carbon, which is important for our planet.



And if all of the above is not impressive, it is worth noting that the study of sharks can lead scientists to the discovery of new drugs for diseases that humanity has not yet learned to cope with.



Sharks, including nurse sharks, are much more important to the environment than many people realize. These animals are certainly predators, but they pose a much smaller threat to people than is commonly believed.



If you look at the statistics, from 2001 to 2013, sharks fatally injured only 1 person per year in the United States. Meanwhile, cute farm animals like cows take 20 times more lives each year. Of course, that doesn't mean any of these animals are intentionally attacking people. Even nurse sharks tend to bite people only in response when they feel threatened or are accidentally hit.



According to the National Geographic article, the nurse sharks we are talking about in this article are generally quite docile creatures. Contrary to popular belief that sharks are aggressive, these animals play an important role in maintaining the ecological balance of the ocean.



In the end, it turns out that most of the time the problem is us, humans, and not the animals we perceive as dangerous and threatening. But fortunately, there are stories like Lily and Sharky that help put things in a more realistic light.

While sharks are predators first and foremost and should not be taken lightly, they do not necessarily come with the intention of causing harm. Sometimes they just want to splash around with the local dog and have a good time.