Whale sharks are filter feeders, feeding on the snapper's suspended fish spawn. They migrate from great distances to mate.
Amazingly, it is safe for scuba divers and snorkelers to swim and play around with these huge and curious creatures. When you spot them in the water, they are huge and intimidating but surprisingly graceful and non-threatening. Some catch a ride on the larger whale sharks and reportedly, some of the younger whale sharks are so curious that they will actively engage with human swimmers. It is a real privilege to be able to swim with the largest fish in the world.
Whale sharks are the largest living fish species on the planet and also the largest living non-mammal in the world. Whale sharks are not whales at all; they are the largest shark, and one of three filter feeding sharks including the basking shark and megamouth shark. The whale shark's genus and species is, Rhincodon typus, which is the sole species within the family Rhincodontidae, originating some 60 million years ago. Whale sharks feed on fish spawn, algae, plankton, krill, and crab larvae among other organisms they can filter. It is beautiful to swim with the giants and watch them flow through the water and take in the food that sustains their huge bodies.
The largest confirmed length of a whale shark is 41.5 feet but there have been multiple reports of whale sharks measuring 45-50 feet. They can easily live for 70 years, and many of the individual whales that swim off Belize are reportedly the same ones that return each year. Whale sharks inhabit all of the tropical and warm seas of the globe and travel in the open sea.
United Arab Emirates
Whale sharks are filter feeders, feeding on the snapper's suspended fish spawn. They migrate from great distances to mate. Amazingly, it is safe for scuba divers and snorkelers to swim and play around with these huge and curious creatures. When you spot them in the water, they are huge and intimidating but surprisingly graceful and non-threatening. Some catch a ride on the larger whale sharks and reportedly, some of the younger whale sharks are so curious that they will actively engage with human swimmers. It is a real privilege to be able to swim with the largest fish in the world. Whale sharks are the largest living fish species on the planet and also the largest living non-mammal in the world. Whale sharks are not whales at all; they are the largest shark, and one of three filter feeding sharks including the basking shark and megamouth shark. The whale shark's genus and species is, Rhincodon typus, which is the sole species within the family Rhincodontidae, originating some 60 million years ago. Whale sharks feed on fish spawn, algae, plankton, krill, and crab larvae among other organisms they can filter. It is beautiful to swim with the giants and watch them flow through the water and take in the food that sustains their huge bodies. The largest confirmed length of a whale shark is 41.5 feet but there have been multiple reports of whale sharks measuring 45-50 feet. They can easily live for 70 years, and many of the individual whales that swim off Belize are reportedly the same ones that return each year. Whale sharks inhabit all of the tropical and warm seas of the globe and travel in the open sea.