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SHARKWEEK: Whale Shark
Oh man, I can't believe I missed a day! I got busy with work and all that jazz, but I made time for today's shark for polarkeet's sharkweeksketchjam, the prodigious whale shark.
Despite being the largest non-cetacean animal in the world, the whale shark's diet is almost entirely made up of some of the smallest organisms in the sea, plankton! Their teeth are tiny to the point of being useless, and this peaceful giant spends its time slowly drifting through the water, filtering food through its five foot wide mouth.
I would love to swim next to one of these guys, they are so massive and graceful it's unreal.
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SHARKS ARE IN TROUBLE. They've roamed our oceans for more than 400 million years, but now shark populations face extinction globally. It is estimated that 73 million sharks are killed every year due to commercial and recreational fishing. Check out SHARK SAVERS to see how you can help.
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* Now available as a STICKER @ PSURG's Redbubble!
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Drawn in Paint Tool SAI
Editing & textures done in CS6
Despite being the largest non-cetacean animal in the world, the whale shark's diet is almost entirely made up of some of the smallest organisms in the sea, plankton! Their teeth are tiny to the point of being useless, and this peaceful giant spends its time slowly drifting through the water, filtering food through its five foot wide mouth.
I would love to swim next to one of these guys, they are so massive and graceful it's unreal.
---
SHARKS ARE IN TROUBLE. They've roamed our oceans for more than 400 million years, but now shark populations face extinction globally. It is estimated that 73 million sharks are killed every year due to commercial and recreational fishing. Check out SHARK SAVERS to see how you can help.
---
* Now available as a STICKER @ PSURG's Redbubble!
---
Drawn in Paint Tool SAI
Editing & textures done in CS6
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 900 x 795px
File Size 480.1 kB
Listed in Folders
Ahhh Ill be living in Okinawa soon and their aquarium has whale sharks. I think Ill be there everyday to stare at these guys lol. This is adorable. I kind of want to get prints of all these awesome sharks and frame them and put them all over the house! Maybe you should make a shark poster.
This might be a weird thing to ask but, if it's not too much trouble could you find out how old the current whale sharks are? I'm really curious, and there doesn't seem to be any current info about it online!
And thanks! I'm actually going to put together a book, I think.
And thanks! I'm actually going to put together a book, I think.
Well just poking around on the internet has gotten me a little confused lol
Wiki states (with no resource? ) that in 2005 Oki got three whale sharks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_.....k#In_captivity
The website still states they have three but that the longest living one was transported in 2011, but perhaps it was a bad translation and meant largest?:
http://oki-churaumi.jp/en/area/kuroshio.html
This website says (a bullet at the bottom) "Jinta is the name of the largest whale shark, the other two male named Number 15 and Number 18." Number 18, does that mean the 18th whale shark they've had since 05? Do they not even live a year in captivity? Or do the numbers signify something else?:
http://worldstourism.com/okinawa-ch.....aumi-aquarium/
And they may not have an idea of age? This website (thoughI dont know if its old or unreliable) seems to say that its hard to tell age:
http://www.whaleshark.org.za/Whale_.....GrowthandAging
Here is something I found that looks like I should do it while I have the chance to, and it says "Annually, approximately 40 whale sharks are caught accidentally by Okinawan fishing nets. Before they are released, the fishing company holds them in a net enclosure, feeds them well, and offers divers a once in a lifetime encounter with them. Some of these whale sharks may end up in the Churaumi Aquarium or the Ring of Fire Aquarium in Osaka, but most of them are released back into the ocean after they have recuperated."
Meaning that they supply the aquarium with lots of whale sharks to keep up with how fast they die? Hmm:
http://okinawahai.com/2010/11/whale-sharks.html
Sorry if I went link crazy lol it is just strange. I'll try and keep it in mind to ask around when I go to the aquarium, I wont be living there until Dec and then Ill need to settle in with the dogs and all so it might be a few months until I get around to it but I will try and revisit this.
Wiki states (with no resource? ) that in 2005 Oki got three whale sharks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_.....k#In_captivity
The website still states they have three but that the longest living one was transported in 2011, but perhaps it was a bad translation and meant largest?:
http://oki-churaumi.jp/en/area/kuroshio.html
This website says (a bullet at the bottom) "Jinta is the name of the largest whale shark, the other two male named Number 15 and Number 18." Number 18, does that mean the 18th whale shark they've had since 05? Do they not even live a year in captivity? Or do the numbers signify something else?:
http://worldstourism.com/okinawa-ch.....aumi-aquarium/
And they may not have an idea of age? This website (thoughI dont know if its old or unreliable) seems to say that its hard to tell age:
http://www.whaleshark.org.za/Whale_.....GrowthandAging
Here is something I found that looks like I should do it while I have the chance to, and it says "Annually, approximately 40 whale sharks are caught accidentally by Okinawan fishing nets. Before they are released, the fishing company holds them in a net enclosure, feeds them well, and offers divers a once in a lifetime encounter with them. Some of these whale sharks may end up in the Churaumi Aquarium or the Ring of Fire Aquarium in Osaka, but most of them are released back into the ocean after they have recuperated."
Meaning that they supply the aquarium with lots of whale sharks to keep up with how fast they die? Hmm:
http://okinawahai.com/2010/11/whale-sharks.html
Sorry if I went link crazy lol it is just strange. I'll try and keep it in mind to ask around when I go to the aquarium, I wont be living there until Dec and then Ill need to settle in with the dogs and all so it might be a few months until I get around to it but I will try and revisit this.
Thanks for the links! I'll get around to reading 'em when I'm not working, but yeah, it's all a little confusing and strange and hard to get any clear answers. I just want to know more about captive whale sharks, since I know quite a few have died but they aren't as well recorded and documented as say, captive orcas. I feel a little uncomfortable with the whole idea, but I want to be well-informed before making any kind of stance or firm opinion on the matter.
Oh jeez, well that's pretty embarrassing on the educator's behalf, because they are most definitely sharks, cartilaginous skeleton n' all. I mean, sharks ARE fish, and the whale shark is indeed the biggest fish, but it's still a shark. But whatever, the Georgia aquarium can't even keep their whale sharks alive so not terribly surprised some numb skull is spreading misinformation.
Well, not intentionally of course. It's just very difficult to keep such large, wide-roaming animals alive in captivity, especially when keeping them is relatively new and aquariums don't have enough experience or knowledge to keep them for even a quarter of their lifespan (whale sharks can live up to 100 years) yet. I do hope their current sharks live long and prosper and all that, I'm just kinda "ehhh" about the whole thing on principle.
They are beautiful creatures, even the so-called man-eaters. I've only ever seen one in an aquarium in Dubai. 'The Palms' hotel on one of those massive artificial islands has this truly huge interior salt water fish-tank in it, and when we were there in 2009 they had a juvenile whale shark swimming around in it. Apparently it was being rehabilitated from some accident or illness before they planned to release it back into the wild. Rather awesome But it also gives you some idea of just how large that aquarium was as even juvenile whale sharks aren't exactly petite!
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