International Whale Shark Day 2025
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I recall my first dead sunfish in Garrison's Bight at Key West, Florida.
The thing was huge and I went to where it was and looked at it a very long time.
This brings us to the Whale Shark. Another huge true fish, it is slow and gentle and would swim the shallows in that same region as the sunfish.
This is the largest shark species on the planet and to see one in person is awe inspiring.
This is an animal I wish people would forego as a food source. Alas, this is not the case.
The whale shark has an average food intake of 44 lbs of food daily. They start out at 16 to 24 inches and may grow from 40 to 60 feet. They have 300 rows of 3,000 teeth, which are 0.2 inches long and the animals feed primarily on plankton and krill.
They are hunted for meat, fins, and recreation. Their primary predators are Orcas, various shark species, and of course — man — I am happy to report that our Japanese brethren who think they have a right to take any living thing from the ocean because nobody has sufficiently told them NO primarily places these fish in Aquaria and as such is more of an attempt at conservation than anything else.
In a sad note, these magnificent animals have been placed on the endangered list of the world’s species.
Today is International Whale Shark Day.
It is a day to consider the place of the Whale Shark in the ecosystem and attempt protections from those predators who exist with the rest of us on the planet. It is an important effort to try and save them from those who think they own the world.