Snorkelling with Whale Sharks at Exmouth, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, the largest fish in the ocean, and a vegetarian.
Image details
Contributor:
anthony marsh / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
A7A6ERFile size:
50.4 MB (2.5 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
5200 x 3388 px | 44 x 28.7 cm | 17.3 x 11.3 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
24 July 2002Location:
ningaloo reef, exmouth, austaliaMore information:
Western Australia is one of the few places in the world known to be visited by the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) on a regular basis. Each year, just days after the mass spawning of corals on the Ningaloo Reef (near Exmouth) in March and April, whale sharks appear in the waters along the front of the reef, remaining for up to a month. It is thought that they come to feed on an explosion of marine life that feeds on the coral spawn. Most of these visiting whale sharks are immature males. Whale sharks will grow to over 12 metres in length, which is about the size of a large bus. These gentle ocean giants are often confused with whales because of their large size and feeding habits. They are, however, sharks, albeit the least fearsome of this group, and their closest relatives are the nurse and wobbegong sharks. Whale sharks are not aggressive, and like the second largest of all sharks - the slightly smaller basking shark - cruise the oceans feeding on concentrations of zooplankton, small fish and squid. The whale shark's mouth contains 300 rows of tiny teeth, but ironically, they neither chew nor bite their food. Instead, the sharks use a fine mesh of rakers attached to their gills to strain food from the water. These rakers are functionally similar to the baleen plates possessed by many whales. However, researchers at Ningaloo have observed that the sharks usually feed by actively swimming through a mass of zooplankton or small fish with their mouths wide open. Whale sharks have also been observed to hang vertically in the water and feed by sucking water into their mouths.