All About The Whale Shark

My son Oliver loves all things to do with marine life, and is especially fascinated with sharks. One of his favorites is the whale shark, join us as we look at some fun facts about them, learn where you can see them, and what you can do to help these amazing creatures. But first we need to settle the question of whether the whale shark is a whale or a shark. The answer: Shark. Unlike whales, which are mammals, whale sharks have gills and are classified as elasmobranchs, a group that includes sharks, rays, and skates.

Fun Facts About The Whale Shark

The largest shark, growing as long as a school bus

Its mouth can be up to 5 feet wide! It uses this big mouth to swallow and push water through its gills

As they filter over 1,500 gallons of water an hour, whale sharks are filtering out tiny plankton, small fish, and crustaceans that they eat

Just like our fingerprints, each whale shark has a unique pattern of spots

Whale sharks are a gentle giant, making it possible to swim with them

What Aquariums Have Whale Sharks?

Whale sharks are so big that only a few aquariums have tanks large enough to house them. There is only one big enough in the United States, and it’s located in Atlanta Georgia. The Georgia Aquarium is home to the Ocean Voyager exhibit that holds 6.3 million gallons of seawater. Watch the video below to see what it looks like up close.

We recently took a family vacation that included a visit to The Georgia Aquarium just to see the whale sharks they have there, read our review here.

If you want to visit but can’t right now, you can check out the live stream of Ocean Voyager on their website.

What Risks Do They Face And How Can We Help?

Whale sharks are endangered and have been for around 7 years now, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Some threats include overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. One of the biggest threats is our plastic waste that makes its way into the oceans. We wrote more about microplastics previously, learn more about it here!

You can help to protect whale sharks by eating sustainably fished seafood, supporting government policies that protect sharks, and choosing tourism options that minimize their impact on the environment. One of the easiest ways you can help right now is reducing the use of single use plastics. Like using metal straws (affiliate link) instead of plastic ones. Please do your part to help these gentle giants!