The whale shark. Natures gentle giants.

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The humble whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a gentle giant of the sea growing up to 12.65m (41ft) and weighing around 25 tonnes.
These incredibly placid creatures can be found in open tropical waters anywhere from Australia to the Maldives in open sea but not deep waters, however they have been known to dive to depths of up to 1,800m.

The whale shark holds the record as the largest living non-mammalian vertebrate along with a few other record holding titles under its belt. Given the name whale shark for its sheer size and its enormous mouth it could be mistaken as a dangerous animal however it poses almost no threat to humans and swimming with/next to them is a popular tourist activity.

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The whale shark is whats called a filter feeder, which basically means it opens its mouth and swims forward catching anything in its path in its filter pads, of which it has 10, and then expelling the excess water through its gills. Its mouth opens to a whopping 1.5m wide and also contains between 300-350 rows of tiny teeth but these have no use during feeding.
It is an active feeder targeting schools of plankton and small nektonic life such as fish and squids,

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(it looks like a big happy smile to me)

The life expectancy of the whale shark is between 70-100 years and doesn't reach sexual maturity until around 30 years of age. they are Ovoviviparous (wot?) it means the eggs are kept in the body until ready to hatch and they give birth to live young. Strangely enough the female retains sperm from one mating session and uses it to produce pups over a long period of time, which is kind of gross if you think about it lol.

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The conservation status of the whale shark is listed as endangered however there are no accurate estimates of their global population, it is listed as endangered because of widespread overfishing and its late sexual maturation.

The whale shark isn't actually a whale but probably the most docile species of shark around, swimming with them is an incredibly popular attraction but should be done so to produce minimal stresses to the animal, juveniles can often be found playing and swimming with divers however.
unlike most sharks the whale shark moves its entire body to propel itself through the water rather than just its tail but only reaches speeds of around 5km/h, kind of the sloth of the ocean :)

The whale shark has such amazing colors and is quite the photogenic creature, its skin is usually dark grey on top with many small dots and white underneath, its also around 10cm thick which can help with predatory attacks. Unfortunately even due to their large size they are not free from predators which can include Orcas(killer whales) blue sharks,white sharks and and blue marlin, most predators attack the still vulnerable young.

They are solo creatures for the most part however during mating and sometimes in search of feeding grounds they will travel in groups or pair. in 2011 more than 400 whale sharks gathered off the Yucatan Coast which was one of the largest gatherings recorded.

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These amazing creatures of the sea are one of my favorite animals and i very much hope to swim with them myself one day, we have them here in Australia on the western coast in a place called Ningaloo reef and it is definitely on my bucket list to visit and hang out with these incredible creatures. As with all animals we must show a high level of respect for and do everything we can not to impact on their livelihood.

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resources
http://goodnature.nathab.com/celebrate-international-whale-shark-day-with-7-fun-facts-about-whale-sharks/
http://www.sharks-world.com/whale_shark/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_shark