WHALE SHARKS ARE UNIQUE

Written by Maxie Marinus during work experience at YO Bendigo

Whale sharks are my favourite animal of all time because they’re incredibly different and unique compared to other animals. I believe more people need to be educated on them because they’re dying out and are endangered.

ARE THEY A WHALE OR A SHARK?:

They’re a shark. They count as one because of the fact they breathe through their gills and have cartilage instead of bones like any normal shark. They are also the biggest shark there is, and along with that, they’re also the world’s biggest fish.

THEIR DIET:

Whale sharks are carnivores and they’re filter feeders which makes them one of three sharks that eat like that. They only really eat plankton, microscopic plants as well as animals.

Their teeth are rendered useless; they don’t use them to bite or even chew, they only have them because of evolution.  Despite that, they have about 300 or more rows of teeth with each row containing around 16 layers. Their teeth are shaped like small teardrops which inspired their scientific name, Rhincodon (Greek for rasp-tooth)

WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND:

They’re found in the warm open waters of tropical waters, although they spend most of their time travelling between the different tropical waters – north and south of the equator in search of food.

LIFESPAN:

It’s hard to determine their exact lifespan but a lot of research suggests they live up to about 70 years ranging to even 100 years old. However, the oldest whale shark recorded was about 50 years old.

SIZE:

They grow up to 30-60 feet in length, and as stated earlier, they’re the biggest fish in the world. Most of the whale sharks studied averaged about 39 feet in length and weighed 15 tons.

STATUS:

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) states they’re endangered and the reason they are is because humans hunt and kill them a lot, however, in nature they have no known predators unless they’re young then blue marlins and blue sharks prey on them. Humans are whale sharks’ main threat because the threat doesn’t stop as they grow up. They get hunted for their fins or their meat, although for better news, a law has been put in place so that they’re more protected which will hopefully make their population rise in numbers.