Randy Alcorn
Eternal Perspectives Ministry
Based in Oregon
Jim Abernethy, a well-known diver and underwater photographer, works primarily with sharks. Years ago in the Bahamas, Jim encountered a large tiger shark he named Emma. Unlike most tiger sharks, Emma was friendly and curious, and as their relationship developed, Jim saw her respond to touch and learned she loved to be petted on the head. She kept coming back to him for a repeat performance.
Emma continued to seek Jim out in his frequent dives and a deep bond developed between them. Emma regularly approached him and welcomed his touch, something rare with wild sharks. Abernethy says there is something hard to describe about how deeply moving his friendship with Emma has become. They know and trust each other and delight in each other’s company. Jim says, “She’s like a big labrador retriever who wants love and affection constantly… These are, without question, sentient creatures which thrive on affection, which they never had before.”
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, global travel restrictions kept Abernethy from visiting Emma for an extended period, leaving him uninformed of her welfare.
When travel was once again possible, Abernethy returned to the Bahamas. After knowing Emma for twenty years, he was eager to see her but unsure if she would remember him after the year-long absence. Remarkably, as he descended into familiar waters, Emma approached him right away. Their reunion was emotional, with Abernethy describing it as a moment of pure joy and relief. They picked up right where they left off. Jim describes Emma as wonderful, warmhearted, and affectionate. While all animals can love others of their own kind, and even different species, the unique affection of humans with animals is something no other animal can give them. It’s as if God made humans to govern and care for animals, and to have a completely inimitable relationship with them.
Jim says of Emma, “She leaves me speechless. I don’t really know that there are words to describe what it is like to have a friendship with a wild animal like this. But it’s extreme joy, heartwarming, almost tearful.”
Watch this video and see firsthand their relationship and how much Emma appears to enjoy Jim’s company:
There are over 500 species of sharks in the world, with more being discovered all the time. Many of those are rarely aggressive with humans. I’ve been around reef sharks with no aggression on their part, including five at once. However, tiger sharks are among the most dangerous, with more attacks and kills of humans than any other sharks except great whites—they are the water equivalents of the present earth’s lions, wolves, and bears. My point is, don’t try to do what Jim Abernethy does. If you ever see a tiger shark on this side of the New Earth, do not put your hand out and try to pet him! Be patient—wait until the New Earth!
But even now, in an often violent world, to see such an unlikely bond like Emma’s and Jim’s gives just a little taste of that coming world we see in Isaiah. Like countless other unlikely relationships of people with animals and animals with each other, it is a beautiful foreshadowing of what the Bible promises us:
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Check out Jim’s Instagram for more footage of sharks, and also see this video of how he’s befriended a nurse shark he’s named Relentless:
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