It’s International Whale Sharks Day But What Do We Know About Them?

It’s International Whale Sharks Day But What Do We Know About Them?

Whale Shark Sightings Always Cause A Buzz Around Phuket But What Facts have We Got

Well we know whale sharks are big and spotty but not a great deal else to be honest. It’s a challenging animal for scientists to study. They’re trying and we’re slowly gaining an insight into the biggest fish on the planets life. There is a way that you can help which we’ll touch on later.

Just How Big Do Whale Sharks Grow?

There’s much debate about the size to which they can grow. 18m is a common figure that’s mentioned but the largest verified measurement is around 12m. In Thailand we rarely see whale sharks larger than 6m but this seems to be a global trend. Apart from the Galapagos Islands, large whale sharks are becoming increasingly rare. The most studied group of whale sharks (Ningaloo Reef, Australia) now average around 6m, at this size whale sharks are not thought to be sexually mature – a very worrying trend.

Why The Spots?

Most likely to reflect and disperse light and aid camouflage. Along with this, the whale sharks skin on its back is thicker and tougher than any other animal. The skin on its back can be up to 6 inches thick! Overlapping dermal denticals cover the outer layer and act like a suit of armour.

Where Do They Go?

Whale sharks live in warm – temperate tropical seas all around the globe. Preferring temperatures of 22c or above. There’s thought to be two large populations, one in the Atlantic and one in the Indo Pacific. They travel huge distances within their ranges. One tagged female recently logged a journey of 7,800km and was still going when the tag dropped off. Where the large females go to give birth is the holy grail of whale shark research and probably the key to keeping the species from extinction

Whale Sharks In Phuket

We can’t with all honestly say that we’re inundated with whale shark sightings. However they’re regular enough visitors to get a mention in dive briefs. Of the local dive sites – Shark Point probably gets the most sightings and if you venture a little further afield then Richelieu Rock gives you a chance but probably Hin Daeng and Hin Muang gives you the best chance of an encounter with these magnificent animals.

The Whale Sharks Entourage

Whale sharks are very often accompanied by large numbers of remora, slender suckerfish and large cobia. Much like the entourage that accompanies celebrities they’re a fairly useless bunch to the ‘star’ and basically freeload a ride off the shirt tails of the main attraction. The accompaniment of spongers get a certain degree of protection from their 20 ton friend and feed from its left overs and pooh but give little if anything in return.

Whale Shark And it's Entourage

Whale Shark And it’s Entourage

Dining Preferences

Whale sharks are plankton feeders but will also feed on fish eggs, krill, small fish and squid. They mostly swim around with there mouths open but they can also use suction to engulf vast quantities of water and filter out the good stuff with a unique sieve like structure that is thought to be modified gill rakers. They have an uncanny ability to appear just at the right time for mass spawning events of coral and fish and gorge themselves on the rich fair.

Reproduction

Pretty much a blank here. Whale sharks mating behaviour has never been witnessed*. Most of the large gatherings around the globe seem to be immature animals and 70% male so it’s unlikely that any naughtiness is going on here. We do know that they give birth to live young (ovoviviparous) after a dead female was dissected and found to have 300 pups inside.

*Update: Whale shark mating was recently witnessed and filmed at Ningaloo Reef

The pups are born 40 – 60cm long and will have a long wait before they can breed themselves. It’s thought that they can breed only when they reach about 30 years of age. Whale sharks are estimated to live as long as 100 years.

Dangerous?

Not at all, unless somebody dropped one on you, that would probably leave a few bruises. Even though they do have 300 rows of tiny teeth, curiously they aren’t used for feeding in any way. Getting to close could get you whacked by the tail but that’s your own fault and you’ll get no sympathy.

What Can You Do?

You’ve probably noticed that there’s a lot of: possibly, it’s thought, suggested etc in this blog which shows regardless of a lot of people’s hard work we still know very little about these magnificent animals. Studying a creature with such a long life span that travels so far and dives so deep is an immensely difficult task.

You can report your sightings on the Wildbook for whale sharks website. Cameras seem to be as important as regulators to divers nowadays and taking a photo can help identify individual animals and help understand their movements. The photo has to be of a specific area of the animal which Wildbook clearly outline on their website. I know we all get a little excited when we see one but try to calm down and get a shot which can help.

So catch your breath start clicking the camera and help save an animal that simply must always be in our oceans.

Contact Us Now

By Justin Hartrey

I've been enjoying the incredible marine life in our oceans for over 25 years. 13 years ago I became a PADI professional, hoping to introduce as many people as possible to the incredible beauty of the seas.

Having been fortunate enough to dive all over south east and especially Thailand, I enjoy sharing my experience and passion on this blog.

Posted in Rare & Peculiar Critters on .

Popular Services

mv dive race moored in the similan islands

Dive Race Class E

MV Dive Race Class E is the latest Thailand liveaboard to cruise the Similan and Surin Island National Parks. Constructed in 2015 to international standards this 34.5m by 7.5m steel hull ocean going vessel was designed with stability and comfort in mind allowing longer trips to Myanmar and the South Andaman sites of Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. Built by divers for divers this luxury class vessel has a very comfortable air-conditioned entertain [...]

Find Out More
Phuket Diving Site Elephant Head Rock

Elephant Head Rock

Elephant Head Rock is a large rocky pinnacle that nestles between Similan Islands seven and eight. The strong current that runs between the two islands has smoothed the granite boulders on Elephant Head Rock and created lots of really nice swim-throughs. Although strong currents are frequently prevalent. The large size of the pinnacle ensures there is always a sheltered and safe area to dive. It's often the first dive of the day to allow d [...]

Find Out More

Daily Schedules

M/V Kepsub Schedule

Jobs @ Local Dive Thailand

Local Dive Thailand is one of Phuket's fatest growing & most vibrant scuba diving operations, we are always looking for quality staff to join us, so feel free to have a look at our jobs listing page.

Job Listings

Contact LDT

Local Guides, Local Knowledge, Local Experiences

Don't trust your diving to amateurs or freshly minted dive guides, dive with local experienced experts from Local Dive Thailand. Our Scuba Diving Phuket Tours will take you to see the rarest of the rare critters, you will be amazed by the macro life our guides can find, in the secret places only they know. To put it in perspective, if you were going to climb Mount Everest you would certainly hire a local sherpa to lead the way & keep you safe. Diving is similar because there is absolutely no substitute for local experience & local knowledge, Local Dive Thailand's guides are Phuket's Sherpa's of the Andaman Sea!

Learn More About Us

Scuba Diving Phuket, Phi Phi & Thailand

When talking about Scuba Diving in Phuket, you should believe the hype, many seasons we have had Whale Sharks grace us on our regular and easy to reach dive sites and on a good day you can add Sea Horses, Sea Moths, Snake Eels, Frog Fish & Octopus to what you can see on any given dive and so much more. If we are heading to Phi Phi Island for the day, you can possibly see Hawksbill Sea Turtles and Black Tip Reef Sharks, also don't forget the King Cruiser, 84 meters of beautiful wreck and the most amazing reef nursery for fish and nudibranch. Local Dive Thailand day trip tours to these locations are not to be missed when you are scuba diving Phuket, get in touch with us and book an 'awesome' day of diving.

Book Your Day Trip

Related News From Local Dive Thailand

See why we are Thailand's leading scuba diving Phuket tour provider, stay up to date & watch out for news & special liveaboard offers!

parrotfish feeding on algae Rare & Peculiar Critters

Parrotfish – Not Just A Pretty Face

Thankfully many species of parrotfish are common on Phuket reefs and we really need to keep it that way. Heavy fines or even jail time await anybody who take parrotfish from the ocean and for good reason. Read on to find out why. A keystone species is an animal that is so important to it's particular ecosystem that it's loss or number depletion will have a heavy impact or even cause total breakdown. Parrotfish are one such species, the [...]

Read Full Story
the intoxicating yellow boxfish Rare & Peculiar Critters

Yellow Boxfish – Toxic And Inspiring?

Yellow boxfish are virtually guaranteed on any Phuket scuba diving trip. Cute, quirky and very photogenic, the yellow boxfish hides a couple of surprising facts. It should be of no surprise that the yellow boxfish has some hidden survival strategies. Being bright yellow and swimming around with no discernible plan isn't going to keep you alive very long. It's swapped the usual fish strategy of being fast or spiky for something different. [...]

Read Full Story
aqualung i450T colours Equipment We Like

Aqualung i450T Dive Computer

Having used the same computer brand for nearly 20 years, it was hard to jump ship from something that had only occasionally let me down. Especially to a brand that is although well trusted in the other diving equipment would be their first foray into the dive computer market. So enticed by a great deal and free in house quick and efficient repairs I decided to take a chance. The Aqualung i450T certainly looks the part, a sleek design a [...]

Read Full Story

Local Dive Thailand Office In Phuket


Find Us On Google Maps