Whale shark habitat | top 10 whale shark

Whale shark habitat | top 10 whale shark

Distribution and habitat

 

The whale shark inhabits all tropical and warm-temperate waters. The fish is mainly pelagic, living in the wide open sea but not in the higher depths of the ocean, though it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as 1, 800 metres (5, nine hundred ft).|17| Temporary feeding aggregations occur at several coastal sites like the southern and eastern parts of South Africa; Saint Helena Tropical isle in the South Atlantic Marine; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, Gladden Spit in Belize; Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia; Kerala|18|, Lakshadweep, Gulf of Kutch and Saurashtra coast of Gujarat in India;|19| Útila in Honduras; Southern Leyte; Donsol, Pasacao and Batangas in the Israel; off Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox in Yucatan and Bahía de los Ángeles in Baja California, México; Maamigili island, Maldives; Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia; Cenderawasih Bay State Park in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia; Flores Island, Philippines; Nosy Be in Madagascar; away Tofo Beach near Inhambane in Mozambique; the Tanzanian islands of Mafia, Pemba, Zanzibar; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, the Advertising Dimaniyat Islands in the Gulf of Oman and Approach Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, Jordan. Although typically seen offshore, it has been found closer to land, entering lagoons or coral reefs atolls, and near the jaws of estuaries and waterways. Its range is generally restricted to about 30° latitude. It is capable of diving to depths of at least 1, 286 m (4, 219 ft),|20| and is migratory.|9| On 7 February 2012, a large whale shark was found floating 150 kilometres (93 mi) off the seacoast of Karachi, Pakistan. The size of the specimen was considered to be between 11 and 12 m (36 and 39 ft), with a weight of around 15, 000 kg (33, 000 lb).|21|

 

 

In 2011, more than 400 whale sharks gathered off the Yucatan Coast. It was one of the greatest gatherings of whale sharks recorded.|22| Aggregations in that area are among the most reliable seasonal gatherings praised for whale sharks, with good sized quantities occurring in most years between May and September. Associated ecotourism has grown rapidly to unsustainable levels.|23|

Neither mating nor pupping of whale sharks has been seen.

 

The capture of a female in July 1996 that was pregnant with three hundred pups indicated whale sharks are ovoviviparous.|9||24||25| The ovum remain in the body and the females give birth to live young which are 40 to 58 cm (16 to 24 in) long. Evidence indicates the pups are not every born at once, but rather the feminine retains sperm from one pairing and produces a steady stream of pups over a lengthened period.|26| They will reach sexual maturity at around 30 years and their lifetime is an estimated 70|9| to 100 years.|27|

 

On 7 March 2009, marine scientists in the Thailand discovered what is believed to be the tiniest living specimen of the whale shark. The young shark, measuring only 38 centimeter (15 in), was located with its tail tied to a stake at a seashore in Pilar, Sorsogon, Dubai, and was released into the wild. Based on this discovery, several scientists no longer believe this area is just a feeding ground; this great site may be a birthing earth, as well. Both young whale sharks and pregnant females have been seen in the oceans of Saint Helena inside the South Atlantic Ocean, where numerous whale sharks could be spotted during the summer.

The whale shark is a filtration feeder - one of just three known filter-feeding shark species (along with the basking shark and the megamouth shark). It feeds on plankton including copepods, krill, seafood eggs, Christmas Island crimson crab larvae |30| and small nektonic life, such as small squid or fish. It also enters on clouds of eggs during mass spawning of fish and corals.|31| The many rows of vestigial teeth play no part in feeding. Feeding occurs either by ram filtering, in which the animal opens it is mouth and swims onward, pushing water and foodstuff into the mouth, or by energetic suction feeding, in which the dog opens and closes its mouth, sucking in volumes of water that are then expelled through the gills. In both cases, the filtration system pads serve to separate food from water. These different, black sieve-like structures are presumed to be modified gill rakers. Food separation in whale sharks is by cross-flow filtration, in which the water trips nearly parallel to the filtration system pad surface, not perpendicularly through it, before moving to the outside, while denser food particles continue to the back on the throat.|32| This can be an extremely efficient filtration technique that minimizes fouling in the filter pad surface. Whale sharks have been observed "coughing", presumably to clear a build-up of particles from the filtration pads. Whale sharks migrate to feed and possibly to breed.

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