Introducing the Whale Shark

The Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) is an enormous and beautiful fish. They have a unique pattern of dots and lines on their back, with a pale belly. They are over 40 feet long, which is over the length of an average school bus. They are huge, but thankfully they are filter feeders. This means that they like to eat animals like plankton and other small fish by scooping large mouthfuls of water and then pushing the water out of its gills. This leaves the small fish and plankton in the mouth of the large fish. They do like hotter climates, and can be found in the Philippines and they migrate along the west coast of Australia and into other similar tropical climates, so it is not likely that you will see one in Canada :). They are very slow swimmers, which means that they do not threaten humans. In fact, humans are known to catch rides with them. This ride hitching is illegal, because they are highly protected. Simply touching one can result in fines up to about $5000USD. These large creatures are vulnerable, but places in Asia continue to hunt them, often for their large fins. It is thought at a mother can carry up to 300 pups at a time, and the newborns grow very quickly for the first few years of their lives (up to 3 feet a year!).

Whale Sharks are very neat creatures, and if you ever get a chance to see one consider yourself lucky. And don't touch it...it may cost you $5000USD  :)

 Click Here to see a neat video about some divers releasing a Whale Shark from some fishing nets!

Skerry, B. J.. N.p.. Web. 21 Oct 2013. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/whale-shark/>.

. N.p.. Web. 21 Oct 2013. <http://www.wcs.org/saving-wildlife/ocean-giants/whale-shark.asp&xgt;.

Zac, Wolfe. N.d. Photograph. n.p.