Are whale sharks whales or sharks?
Amazing facts about the world’s largest fish and how YOU can swim alongside them with us.
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about whale sharks, and how we can prepare the prefect trip for you this winter.
Are they whales? Or are they sharks? They certainly can’t be both: one’s a mammal and the other a fish. So what’s in a name? Let’s get the big question out of the way first: whale sharks are actually sharks, and they’re the largest fish in the world. Whale sharks can grow to more than 40 feet long, but they’re actually gentle giants: as long as you don’t get too close, you can snorkel right alongside these docile, plankton-eating behemoths.
How big do they really get?
Whale sharks – scientific name Rhincodon typus,Spanish translation tiburon ballena – can grow to more than 40 feet in length and weigh more than 20 tons. The juvenile whale sharks in La Paz Bay range from 12 to 25 feet in length. Their mouths alone can be three feet wide! Because they’re largely solitary and spend most of their lives in the wide open ocean, whale sharks remain enigmatic creatures to the scientists who study them. No one’s exactly sure how long they live, how they mate or give birth, or what they do all that time out there in the mysterious open ocean.
Are they dangerous?
While swimming with whale sharks, it’s important to do your best to not look anything like plankton. It’s true: whale sharks are not aggressive or dangerous to humans. In fact, they barely seem to notice us at all. Whale sharks are much more interested in tiny organisms suspended in the water column such as krill, fish eggs and crustacean larvae.
Whale sharks do have rows of tiny teeth, but they don’t use them to feed. They eat by sucking water in through their mouth, filtering out the delicious plankton and pushing the remaining water out through their gills. Some of their favorite meals are located right on the surface of the water in the Sea of Cortez. When a shark finds a spot particularly loaded with plankton, you’ll see them hanging vertically, mouths open to the surface with their gills excitedly flaring.
Perhaps it’s this feeding strategy – akin to that of baleen whales – that inspired their name. Or maybe it’s their sheer size. Whatever the reason for their confusing name, these impressive creatures never cease to astound us.
What does your dream trip look like?
Snorkeling with whale sharks is just one part of an epic trip at Palapas Ventana! Our EDventure trips take place
January through March and include an overnight excursion to our Mag Bay Camp to get up close and personal to Gray Whales, a day swimming with Sea Lions at Cerralvo and looking for Humpback Whales and Dolphins, fossil hunts, and more. Come bag this Bucket List adventure week with us, full of adventure, education, and once-in a-lifetime memories!
BOOK NOW to swim with whale sharks
OR Call 1-310-594-DIVE
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