Although it looks like this loveable shark just wants some pets, it is actually probably looking for handouts. Divers will often feed lionfish to the sharks. This could be a good thing as lion fish are an invasive species, eating up all the little fish and basically taking over the reef.
However this could leave to negative interactions as:
A. Shark thinks human is feeding it yummy lion fish and mistakenly bites a finger.
B. Human thinks shark is super loveable and tries to hug/hold shark/take selfie, shark bites human.
C. Human thinks all sharks are loveable and tries to pet another shark not familiar with the lion fish exchange policy and gets bit.
D. Any of the above happens and all sharks end up with a black mark on their record.
Given, sharks are cool and lion fish deserve to die. Maybe in this case it would be better to leave the lion fish on the bottom or even better see if the local fishers unit wants the carcass for study/counting.
Finally they are supposed to be good eats. Just make sure you know how to safely cut the barbs off.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
