Despite its monstrous size, there is little to fear from the whale shark, unless of course you are one of the millions of plankton the whale shark feeds on. The whale shark falls into the category commonly known as filter feeders. With the abnormally large size of the whale shark's mouth, around four feet in width, the animal is able to take in vast amounts of water laden with plankton and other small sea creatures. The shark has devices called gill rakers that grab the food in the shark's mouth. The water passes through the gills and into the ocean, then the whale shark is left with a mouthful of nourishment.



Habitat

Whale sharks are basically distributed throughout the world in warm waters. They can be found anywhere from New York to Sri Lanka. Whale sharks are not found, however, in the Mediterranean Sea.



Reproduction

The whale shark is a viviparous reproducer, which means they produce live young. The eggs are fertilized and hatch inside the female's body. They are then fed by a placenta which transports nutrients and oxygen to the baby while at the same time taking the waste from the baby and releasing it into the ocean. Female whale sharks have been reported to carry hundreds of pups during pregnancy.

Whale Sharks in Captivity

Though not common, the whale shark can be found in captivity in some places across the world. One of these places, the Okinawa expo aquarium, holds a display of many captured whale sharks. The first whale shark to be displayed in public was held at the Izumito Sea Paradise Aquarium in 1934. Because of its monstrous size, a very creative and laborous technique is used to capture whale sharks in the wild. Once the whale shark is spotted, an open-ended barge is lowered into the water. The shark is guided into the interior of the barge, and the ends are closed. The barge with the whale shark in it is then slowly brought back to shore.

Current Research and Projects

There are currently a few projects underway to discover more information about the mysterious whale shark. The first of these is a program whose main goal is to locate the whale sharks and their migatory habits. This is done by a tagging system over a period of twenty years. There is also a DNA sampling project underway in efforts to distinguish where the majority of whale sharks are being taken from. By learning this, conservationists will be able to protect valuable whale shark habitats.

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