Whale shark at Richelieu Rock with Pirate Divers Khao Lak
Richelieu Rock diving is one of the best places to spot a Whale Shark. When diving at Richelieu Rock there is always a chance to encounter one of this amazing pelagic animals!
The whale shark is a slow-moving filter feeding shark and the largest known fish in the marine life kingdom This is the largest fish with a length over 14m (46 ft.) long and weighing at least 30 tons (66,000 lb.), It holds a records for sheer size alone in the underwater world. The Whale shark species originated about 60 million years ago. It has a lifespan of about 70 to 75 years, but this is very hard to prove as they are a very elusive animal. The whale shark has an extraordinary large mouth anywhere from 1.5m in width. The whale shark has an incredible large pair of gills which consume large volumes of tropical sea water. This animal pushes water into their mouth and filters all the plankton out. Then they expel the water through their gills.
There are only two other fish that consumer their food in this manner, mega mouth and the basking sharks. These amazing animals are completely harmless to humans. Unfortunately, they have a bad reputation due to the many movies depicting sharks as vicious predators below the water. There has never been any incident, where human had been injured by whale sharks. The whale shark is a pelagic fish. Which mean it will not be found near the deepest part of the ocean or near shores line or lakes. The head is wide and flat. which makes it very streamlined fish in these tropical oceans. It has two rather small eyes considering it overall size. Its marking is pales yellow with spots and stripes. Completely unique to each fish. Similar to the human hand print. The skin of the huge animal is approximately 10 cm in thickness It’s color is a grayish blue.
Whale sharks are a very docile marine fish and does allow divers and snorkelers to swim and dive along beside them. In the Similan Islands - Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock are famous for their Whale Sharks sighting. Also there is a small wreck dive off the coast of Khao lak, which is call the Bangsak wreck. Unusually, there have been many sighting this year of whale sharks in this location. This is not their normal hunting ground because of its close proximity to land. They like the open sea. We do discourage divers and snorkelers from touching this majestic animal. Interaction only by swimming and not touching. There have been many discussions on whether touching these beautiful animal can do harm to them. Does the oil from your palms, cause them to get infected and die? There is no conclusive evidence either way. It's very tempting to touch theses marine creator but could you take the chance, that you could harm this animal. Also we always advise people never to swim to close to a whale shark. one swipe of their tails, could unintentionally dislodge your mask or even your regulator. Whale shark are the gentle giants of tropical oceans. Unfortunately, they are on the endangered list. Due to shark fining. Keep your distant and never touch them. leave them for the next generation.