Swimming with Whale Sharks & Manta Rays

A slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark, the whale shark is a large existing fish species. Approx. 60 Feet is the length of the largest confirmed individual which was 18.8 m in mass. The whale shark is noted for its size records in the animal kingdom, especially that of it being the biggest living vertebrate among other non-mammals. On the one hand whale sharks can reach 40-foot length (12 meters) ( but usually they reach only 18–22 ft (5.5–6.7 m) or 20-23 feet (6.0-7.0m)); however, it is not uncommon for them to grow as big as twenty plus feet with an average weight reaching 20.6 tons (18.7 metric tonnes). These types of sharks have a filtering system; so they cannot bite or chew. The gills of whale sharks can filter over 6,000 liters of water per hour. Lifecycle research based on growth ring counts from vertebrae as well as studies that measure them out at sea estimate a lifespan range from roughly 80 up to around 130 years old for this species., Swimming right beside them in open water! It is interesting that despite having a gigantic mouth at their disposal whale sharks almost always eat tiny plankton. That’s why whale sharks pose no threat to people. What attracts these creatures are eggs of fish, krill and algae, but they certainly have no taste for a human being who is treading water with them. However, if you are afraid that one may engulf you completely know that its 400 mouth could contain up to 3000 small teeth meant for sieving not gnashing. In an hour, a whale shark can take in as much as 1500 gallons of water for its food which consists mainly of plankton, krill and small fish species.