Whale Shark

What is Whale Shark

The species was distinguished in April 1828 after the harpooning of a 4.6 m specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. The whale shark is often seen in the open waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in the water below 21 degree Celsius.

Whale Shark Characteristics

What does a Whale Shark look like?

Whale Shark Facts

• Whale sharks are the largest fish on the planet.
• Whale sharks are in no way related to whales. Although they are sharks, they are very docile and no harm to humans.
• Whale sharks can reach up to 14m in length.
• Whale sharks weight up to 12 tons which are about 11,000 Kg.
• Whale sharks have filter feeders and sieve plankton through their gills for much of their nourishment.
• Whale sharks almost have 3,000 small teeth but they don’t use all of them to eat.
• These are not the fastest swimmers as they hardly reach the 5Kmph.
• Female whale shark gives birth to live young.
• Whale sharks grow up fast and quick.
• Their skin is incredibly tough.

Whale Shark Attack

Whale Shark Life Span

Whale Shark Diet

The whale sharks are a very unique creature which is known as the filter feeder. The whales prefer to eat plankton, which includes krill, copepods, and fish eggs. The whale shark also eats eggs during spawning of other fishes and corals.

Whale Shark Size

The whales are the largest animal found in the aquatic life. The largest whale yet found of 12.65 m in the deep sea. Although the average size of the whales is rage between 8 – 10 m.

Baby Whale Shark

The only specimen of the baby shark caught in 1996 for study. A female whale shark can give birth to almost 300 young ones which measure approximately 16-24 inches in length. The young ones of whales can grow 49 cm per year in their length. The growth of the young ones depends on the habitat and the availability of the food for the young ones.

Whale Shark Habitat

The whale shark easily adapts the environment and mostly found in the warm temperate seas. The fish is primarily pelagic, living in the open sea but not in the greater depths of the oceans. Although it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as 1800 m. these are high migratory in search of food and mates.

Whale Shark Reproduction

A female whale was captured in the July 1996 which was pregnant with 300 pups indicated that whales are ovoviviparous. The eggs remain in the body and the females give birth to live young that have the length of 40 to 60 cm. These pups are not all born at once, but rather the female retains sperm from one mating and produces a steady stream of pups over a particular period.