A picture of the whale shark taken close enough to be swallowed

Whale sharkSpeaking of what is known as the largest fish among the native, it is said that the largest individual that has been observed up to now is as long as 13.7 m in length. Below is a picture of the divers who swim with the whale shark as close as possible to be swallowed.

Open wide: The diver who nearly got swallowed by a whaleshark | Mail Online

Whale sharks feed on plankton, small fish, algae, etc., inhale them with sea water, eat with the method of releasing only sea water using gills to eat the remaining creatures. Like this"Filtered feeding"Animals doing mainly on plankton located at the bottom of the ecology pyramid, but in animal history this position is often the largest creatures are often included, other than the whale sharkBearded whaleThere are examples such as.

Whale sharks are a type of shark, but movement is slow, and it is rare to cause harm to people.


Mauricio Handler, a photographer who took this picture said, "When I took a picture of a diver looking into the mouth of a shark that opened the jaw wide, adrenaline had left," telling the excitement at the time of shooting It is.

According to Mr. Handler, "Because the whale sharks are not very good eyes, the divers swim not to disturb their way, but if the divers were swallowed, they would have been spit "It seems that it will not be eaten even if it is swallowed.


Plankton and small fish, the staple food of the whale shark, are also staple foods for sardines and other people, so they came together seeking food in the same area, and bonito and tuna gathered to aim for this sardine, and one piece of bean sprouts It seems that ecosystems may be formed. For this reason, there is a high possibility of becoming a big catch where the whale shark is located, and in Japan it has been regarded as being a lucky name called "Ebisame".


Mr. Handler says, "I feel that showing what I have never seen before is my job, which is to make me a new angle, but everyone has such a beautiful I think that you want to know that living things are here now but may not be a while ahead, it is impermissible to treat the ocean like a supermarket and leave it alone. " I will.


The whale shark is currently under the treaty of WashingtonRed ListIt is stated in Endangered and threatened with extinction. In Japan, including developed countries, rarely eat the whale shark meat, but in the Chinese and Japanese luxury Chinese restaurants the shark's fin of the whale shark is said to be the highest quality item called "Zenith wing" among shark's fin and it is traded at a high price It is said that it is contributing to overfishing of whale sharks by fishermen in developing countries.