Sad II
- Thread starter sshindell
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How many Whale Sharks are in the wild? Forgive my ignorance.
longer answer:
Whale sharks are sharks, not whales, and are very peaceful, lumbering, giants that can travel 800 miles a season in search of food. They are found worldwide from 30 degrees north and 35 degrees south of the equator. One of the nine main areas that they congregate is a few hundred miles away near Cancun, Mexico.
They can reach up to 60 feet in length. They have 300 rows of very small teeth just inside its lips that help it hold the food as it is scooped in its mouth. Its mouth is huge, getting as wide as 4 feet in length. While its mouth is enormous, its throat is small and is at a right angle to its stomach, limiting the size of the food that it can catch. Unlike most sharks, its mouth is in the front, rather than underneath the snout.
Newborns are only 21-25 inches long. Its mother can keep up to 300 egg sacks at different stages of development in its womb, releasing each pup as it reaches maturity. It reaches an average size of 18-32 feet, but they may grow as large as 40-60 feet in length.
Its skin is 4 inches thick, and as a result it has few predators other than killer whales, great white sharks, tiger sharks, and humans. They are caught for human consumption, and, in fact, our whale sharks were purchased before they were sold in the Asian market. As a result of fishing, their numbers are decreasing dramatically and they are listed as vulnerable by CITES.
Whale sharks are sharks, not whales, and are very peaceful, lumbering, giants that can travel 800 miles a season in search of food. They are found worldwide from 30 degrees north and 35 degrees south of the equator. One of the nine main areas that they congregate is a few hundred miles away near Cancun, Mexico.
They can reach up to 60 feet in length. They have 300 rows of very small teeth just inside its lips that help it hold the food as it is scooped in its mouth. Its mouth is huge, getting as wide as 4 feet in length. While its mouth is enormous, its throat is small and is at a right angle to its stomach, limiting the size of the food that it can catch. Unlike most sharks, its mouth is in the front, rather than underneath the snout.
Newborns are only 21-25 inches long. Its mother can keep up to 300 egg sacks at different stages of development in its womb, releasing each pup as it reaches maturity. It reaches an average size of 18-32 feet, but they may grow as large as 40-60 feet in length.
Its skin is 4 inches thick, and as a result it has few predators other than killer whales, great white sharks, tiger sharks, and humans. They are caught for human consumption, and, in fact, our whale sharks were purchased before they were sold in the Asian market. As a result of fishing, their numbers are decreasing dramatically and they are listed as vulnerable by CITES.
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This past weekend, I just took friends from California and England to the Georgia Aquarium and watched them be in awe of these marvelous animals.
That is sad photo indeed!
That is sad photo indeed!
