To be fair if I thought a shark would let me pet it without it costing me a hand I totally would. Humans seem to really like to try to hang out with most other animals in general, it’s just a case of which ones will tolerate us. Big cats also look pretty similar to their little domesticated cousins so I expect there’s also a fair degree of cultural reinforcement of “cat-shaped = friend-shaped”
What is it about big cats that even though they can eat you, you want to pet them? Big sharks? Not so much.
They are kitties :3
To be fair if I thought a shark would let me pet it without it costing me a hand I totally would. Humans seem to really like to try to hang out with most other animals in general, it’s just a case of which ones will tolerate us. Big cats also look pretty similar to their little domesticated cousins so I expect there’s also a fair degree of cultural reinforcement of “cat-shaped = friend-shaped”