These are whale sharks looking for handouts from fishermen in Indonesia. It's funny to me to see these big, slow, cold-blooded animals, which I have always considered to be lazy, plankton-straining feeders, actively snapping at food from the surface like giant versions the goldfish in a pond. Cute.
Nat Geo's caption for the picture is: Vying for position under a bagan, male whale sharks—two of about twenty that visit this spot—scramble for a snack. Typically an adult shark might cruise night and day at a sedate one to three miles an hour, sucking in enough seawater to feed itself. This group likely spends a lot of time in Papua's Cenderawasih Bay, making it one of a few places where the species gathers year-round. Scientists hope to cooperate with locals to launch studies of the giants.
If you want to see the rest in this photo series, you can go to http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/whale-sharks/aw-photography
3 comments:
Jeez! It was probably one of these things that swallowed Noah rather than a whale.
Thanks so much for posting that series of pictures, they were amazing. I can't get over the size of their mouths when they open them up all the way to feed.
And their spotted skin is gorgeous. Great shots!
Dad- Interesting hypothesis. You're quite the biblical scholar! ;) Maybe you should volunteer to help the archeologists from Liberty University in their search for Jonah's Ark.
Lady Notorious- Cool, I'm glad you like 'em. I'm sure looking forward to seeing your fiddler crab pictures from Edisto Island. :)
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