NEED TO KNOW
- Ocean Ramsey describes her hand-to-nose contact with a shark during one of her dives, seen in a new clip for Netflix’s upcoming documentary Shark Whisperer
- The shark diver and ocean conservationist recalled the shark “literally feeling” her during their moment of contact in the water
- Shark Whisperer will be released on Netflix globally on June 30
Ocean Ramsey has a connection that most don’t.
The professional diver and ocean conservationist opened up about an out-of-body interaction she had with a shark upon placing her hand out in front of it in Netflix’s upcoming documentary Shark Whisperer.
“What if I just put my hand out? And I’m just going to adapt to whatever she’s giving me,” she says in a voice-over heard in a new teaser shared by Netflix Film’s Instagram on Thursday, June 19.
The clip features Ramsey, wearing a wetsuit and diving fins, swimming in the ocean as a massive shark directly approaches her face-to-face. Then, she extends her arm in front of her and gently places her hand on the shark’s nose as it swims closer.
“There’s something going on here that I can’t explain,” a voiceover from another person can be heard as the picture shows the shark pushing her back through the water as she maintains contact with its nose.
“Like, they are communicating,” the voiceover adds.
Ramsey explains, “In that moment of contact, there is so much said. Sharks have this sensory system where they can feel the electrical output from living organisms, so she’s literally feeling who I am on a level that we don’t sense the world.”
On June 2, Netflix released the first trailer for the Shark Whisper documentary. The film, helmed by J.P. Stiles, Harrison Macks and the Academy Award-winning director of My Octopus Teacher, James Reed, is slated to be released globally on June 30.
PEOPLE had an exclusive first look at the trailer, which gave viewers a glimpse into the murky waters of modern conservation with lightning rod Ramsey at the center. The diver, who has over 2 million Instagram followers, has attracted both the captivated and critical alike with her work.
Amid the global fascination and fierce debate she sparks, Ramsey strives to connect with sharks and decode their language on an unprecedented level in an attempt “to challenge the negative perception of sharks,” per the documentary’s synopsis.
In May, Ramsey spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about the origins of her underwater passion and love for sharks at an early age. She also opened up about her conservation endeavors and educational intentions with her posts on social media.
Ramsey said she had to learn on her own — or as she puts it, “the hard way” — when she first started diving with sharks, like “not to splash” and “be really quiet around them.” She explained, “Otherwise, they might rush you or they’ll give you more attention.”
Proving that sharks aren’t “monsters” is among Ramsey’s biggest goals, along with informing her audience that humans and sharks can “coexist.”
Ultimately, that’s at the heart of the professional diver’s passion project-turned-career.
“So in order to allow sharks to exist, you have to teach the humans that they’re not monsters,” Ramsey told PEOPLE. “They’re predators, but we need them to be predators — so all we need to do is adapt to their predatory role, behavior and nature.”
“For me,” she concluded, saying, “Being out in open ocean surrounded by sharks… there’s no point in my life where I feel more fully awake.”
Shark Whisperer will be released on Netflix globally on June 30.
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