Whale Shark
· Whale Shark Habitat
· Whale Shark Food
· Whale Shark Behaviour
· Conservation Status
· Whale Shark Pictures
· Whale Shark facts

Whale Shark Behaviour

Whale Shark behaviour – Eating

The whale shark does not hunt for their food such as most other sharks do but is instead a filter eater, just as the common whale. By inhaling water, closing the mouth and exhaling water out through the gills the whale shark is capable of capture food in cleverly designed filters positioned right in front of the gills. Once all the water has been exhaled the whale shark will swallow what it has caught to make room for another round. A common misconception is that the whale shark behaviour needs it to be swimming in order for the eating process to take place but most whale shark is actually quite still in the water while eating and instead pump water in and out of its mouth while capturing more and more prey in its filters.

Whale Shark behaviour – Migration

It is highly believed that the whale shark migrates across the globe and is a very seasonable shark, showing up at different shores on different times of the year. This whale shark behaviour has not been proven though and it is very possible that they just are not seen quite often. Future studies will provide with information on that subject.

Whale Shark behaviour – Mating

Very little is known about the whale sharks mating behaviour. Studies of an egg found in 1956 suggested that the whale shark, as most other fishes, lay eggs but later it has turned out that the whale shark also is able to give live birth to their young. More studies are needed to fully understand how the mating process of the whale shark really works. A whale shark can live to become as old as 150 years and it is believed that they are sexually mature around their 30s.

Whale Shark behaviour – Human encounters

Because of its huge size and slight resemblance to other sharks the whale shark has gotten the reputation of being a dangerous animal. This is not the case though since the whale shark never would intently harm an animal as large as a human, let alone try to eat them. The whale shark is highly curious and will swim up close to any human it encounters but will not attack since it does not have that kind of aggressive predatory behaviour, it just wants to see that what that odd looking mammal is doing in the water.