That’s right!! We got Whale Sharks and not just 1 but a whole gathering of 6 or more! These amazing creatures are hanging out near to Sumilon Island a protected marine park located just north of Liquid, in the Tanon Straight.
Whale Sharks are actually a fish, in fact they are the largest fish in the ocean and can grow up to 18+mts. Unlike their name sake ‘shark’ these placid creatures are not carnivorous – that is unless you happen to be a tiny microscopic spec of plankton or an equally tiny krill!
They are filter feeders, which means that they gulp down mouth fulls of ocean water which passes through their enormous gill slits on either side of their head. Inside their gills is an intricate mesh like net that catches the plankton and Krill which the whale shark then happily swallows. In order to feed they swim in a horizontal manner up to the surface, which makes it easy to spot them!
We are very lucky that the whale sharks have decided to come and pay us a visit and we hope that the local fishing communities at Oslob and Sumilon continue to protect these amazing creatures so that they stay around for a while!
