Even though I knew that the shark wouldn't eat me, it was still a little scary being in the water with such a large animal. (Fun fact: whale shark throats are as big as your fist, so it couldn't swallow you if it wanted to!) I have always been obsessed with sharks, but the thought of getting in the water with one was still intimidating. When I got in the water and saw the large shark in front of me, I was a little overwhelmed. Luckily I stayed in the water and watched the shark swim peacefully past all of the snorklers. It was incredible to see such a beautiful animal out in the wild. I was so grateful to get to see this endangered animal swimming in the ocean where it belongs.
Whale sharks live in warm, tropical water. Whale sharks go where the plankton is, so people only see them when there is lots of plankton in the water. If there is no plankton (which means there is nothing for whale sharks to eat) the whale sharks disappear. Scientists do not actually know where the whale sharks go when they are not close to shore eatting. Here in Mozambique, we mainly see juvenile (young) male sharks. Places like the Galapogos islands in Ecuador have mainly adult female sharks. Scientists called marine biologists have been studying whale sharks to try to find out where they go when they leave the coast. So far we are still not sure, but hopefully with more research we will find out!
