Everybody remembers the first time they dived with a whale shark as it is unforgettable. To get close to such a large and beautiful creature is an awesome, immensely humbling experience. There is something magical about watching them move, the curve of their tail, the glint of their spots and the tiny yellow and blue fish that collect in the jet stream in front of their mouths. With a graceful sweep of their bodies they can disappear into the deep, taking with them their secrets.
We are trying to solve the mystery of where the whale sharks go when they seemingly disappear. Recent research shows us that they dive to depths of over 1000 metres where can be less than 8.5 degrees C! It was always thought they spent most of their time at the surface but the same research shows that they spend a considerable amount of time at great depths as well. We hope to start an acoustic tagging programme early next year where we will place receiver beacons at regular intervals along 12km of whale shark hotspots. Every time the whale sharks pass within a certain radius of the receivers their movement will be tracked so eventually we will have a much clearer picture of how faithful they are to the Diani beach area.
We welcome you to get involved and if you would like to know more about this programme please get in touch with us. Doesn’t this close up picture above of a whale shark’s mouth just make you want to know more about the biggest fish in the ocean??!
Donations made here are
Dec 10th Ann C USD 115.00
2 Comments
Hello there. Great blog. My son and I check in on this project and see how the you all are doing. Keep up the good work. Lisa, Caliifornia
Thank you Lisa, we really appreciate all comments and encouragment!!
You are doing a great job there!
It is not only interesting but also necessary to collect all possible data on this endangered sharks. The more we know about them, more we can do to preserve them. I look forward to read more on your work there!
As they say in swahili “asante sana” or thank you for your kind support! Please continue to visit our blog and keep up to date with what we are doing.