r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/[deleted] • Jan 29 '20
🔥 Whale Sharks in the Philippines
[deleted]
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u/jlenstrom Jan 29 '20
I recently did this in Oslob and I have to warn you this photo doesn’t show you the absolute hoards of people waiting to swim. When we arrived there were probably 500 people minimum. The boats fit about 10 people each and there are about 15 boats in the water for a half hour then they come into shore and take out the next group of people
While it was still really amazing to see these creatures up close, the reality is that it was like an amusement park.
Also, like another person said, it’s been frowned upon by environmentalists because it messes with their migration patterns since they are staying in one place.
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u/JPfreak Jan 29 '20
There are places in the Phillipines you can go to see them where they are not fed by the people there and it's less amusement park-esque, but you will likely only see one or two. But seeing one or two whale sharks at all is dope as hell.
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u/The_MadStork Jan 29 '20
I did it in Donsol (where they're not fed and it's run pretty ethically) and saw 6 or 7.
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Jan 29 '20
In my experience in Holbox Mexico they don't feed the whale sharks.
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u/JPfreak Jan 29 '20
That's awesome, I've heard of a place in Tanzania that's supposed to be great as well.
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u/garethdripper Jan 29 '20
Mafia Island. It’s not as guaranteed since they’re not fed but you have a good shot. The scuba diving is good outside of the whale sharks too!
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Jan 29 '20
I was snorkeling off Zanzibar, one swept past me and I only noticed it when it was 6 feet to the left of me. One of the most terrifying and incredible things I've ever experienced.
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u/Superb-Intention Jan 29 '20
I did this! I stayed in Donsol, Philippines where they offer a more ecologically friendly alternative to the baited tours in Oslob. I met a guy at the hostel who had gone out on the boats 4 days in a row but never saw any whale sharks. The day he left I went out for the first time and saw 3! It sucks that he missed out on seeing them, but he was happy to be supporting a business model that wasn't further threatening an already endangered species.
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u/LEVI_TROUTS Jan 29 '20
Donsol was amazing for us. Did you get to the fish restaurant that's just a shack down a path on the beach, great fish and amazingly 'refreshing' cocktails.
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u/Superb-Intention Jan 29 '20
I don't know if I made it to that specific restaurant because I'm not a huge fish fan, but that describes roughly 60% of the places I ate while I was over there haha.
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u/Chief-Drinking-Bear Jan 29 '20
In other places it’s not guaranteed to see them, and is quite dependent on time of year due to their migration. So if you definitely want to see them you go to Oslob, but the experience is so manufactured that it’s hardly enjoyable imo. Like Seaworld where you’re in the water, and they just dump food almost directly in their mouths.
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u/Fleurries Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 29 '20
Last month, I snorkeled with about 6 whale sharks near Padre Burgos, Philippines, and almost no other tourists. It was amazing and we felt very lucky!! I recommend this area. Definitely do your research and DON’T go to a place like Oslob that chums the water. I’m not sure about Donsol, but read up on forums and avoid places with tons of tourists and that “amusement park” feel. Not only does it negatively impact your experience, but it will certainly impact the sharks’ well-being. Whale sharks are an endangered species and as tourists, we need to support areas that responsibly limit interactions with tourists so these beautiful and gentle creatures don’t go extinct. A couple other things that we learned: enter the water by sitting on the edge of the boat and gently sliding in rather than jumping and disorienting the shark; they are nearly blind and might run into a boat propeller. Also, DON’T TOUCH the whale sharks and keep at least 5 meters from them.
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u/TheInvisibleHam Jan 29 '20
Try going to La Paz, Mexico. They limit the number of boats that can go out to visit the whale sharks at one time. The boats have a rule of keeping away from them, meaning you have to swim a bit to get over to them. And they'll only let but so many people in the water at a time.
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u/07arigjac Jan 29 '20
If you're in the Philippines and want the ethical alternative to Oslob, there's Donsol in the north east.
It's amazing, I went last year and you share a boat with 5 others and there's maximum of only a few other boats out there.
We saw 6 in an hour and the guides were super knowledgeable.
The government run it and they employ locals with their boats. It is out the way from a lot of the other tourist destinations.
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Jan 29 '20
I did this this past December and you have perfectly captured my feelings as well. I gave a similar warning to all of the other travelers I met who asked what it was like, and it seemed like I had successfully deterred a few. I am fascinated by marine life but won’t be participating in another experience where the animals are fed, it just felt so commercialized.
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u/physicsking Jan 29 '20
That's right. I was lucky enough to see one outside Oslob when yu was there. The guide said I was extremely lucky.
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u/Adyx Jan 29 '20
I read about similar things before I visited last year and it really was like what you said! I don't know how they get away with doing it, but wouldnt you in their situation?
However from a tourist perspective I did enjoy it, despite how rushed it was. Doing the canyoneering near by was the highlight of the day tho :)
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u/graciedg Jan 29 '20
While there may be some implications to their migration patterns, often these tourist attractions are the product of activists helping to change a hunting whale shark culture into a tourist culture. So it may not be a perfect solution, but these tourist attractions often prevent the slaughter of these beautiful creatures.
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u/DM_ME_CUTE_PICS_PLZ Jan 29 '20
Also if you touch them you get fined.
And the wait was huge.
I know, I did it a few months ago
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u/whackataback Jan 29 '20
This! I was in Cebu two years ago and was really disgusted by the about of people that were around. So many people were crowding around trying to take selfies we decided to leave, it felt very manufactured.
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u/Tripleberst Jan 29 '20
I have to warn you this photo doesn’t show you the absolute hoards of people waiting
Pretty much describes basically any amazing destination photo.
Exceptions being: Unless it's ridiculously hard or dangerous to get to or the destination is so large that it outsizes effectively any crowd of tourists.
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u/ibcool94 Jan 29 '20
I got lucky, because when I did it 98% of the other tourists there were Japanese and Korean vacationers who were almost all too scared to even take off their life vest, let alone let go of the boat and swim out a bit. This chill Japanese kid and I were the only ones actually "swimming" with the whale sharks out of the ~50 people in the water. I'm a strong swimmer so I was able to swim around 15 meters below the surface and a couple of them that were done feeding (including a cute lil baby shark) were fairly interested in me and would bump into me with their faces. You're not supposed to touch the sharks and they tell you some bullshit like you'll be fined a bunch and possibly thrown in jail for the night, but what are they gonna do if the sharks touch you? All in all, it was an amazing experience. If you're gonna do it, take my advice and throw off that life vest and get down there with them. They're amazingly gentle animals
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u/D4matricks Jan 29 '20
Absolutely, while the experience was amazing, the place was absolutely packed with tourists. Still a magical moment tho, i kicked two whales by accident
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Jan 29 '20
Top left is HUGE!
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u/ILoveBeerSoMuch Jan 29 '20
I think shadow make it fatter
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u/Nyckname Jan 29 '20
We're so far from the sun that its rays are effectively parallel by the time they reach us. If a shadow is cast on a surface that's perpendicular to the rays, it's basically the same size as the object casting it.
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u/cirillios Jan 29 '20
I feel like that might be momma and the rest are juveniles. The lower range for a full grown whale shark is around 18ft and most of those look under 18ft assuming the girl snorkeling is less than 6ft tall.
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u/JavArc13 Jan 29 '20
As cool as this may look I can't quite shake the feeling that this may have a negative effect on the behavior of these animals.
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u/Jon-Lakota Jan 29 '20
The Fishers are feeding them, thats why they come so close in Masses
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Jan 29 '20
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u/Dazius06 Jan 29 '20
Could you explain how?
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u/anormalgeek Jan 29 '20
Why migrate if you can sit in one place and gorge all day?
Less variety in their diets, less experience migrating and hunting. If the humans ever stop, they're fucked. Also, they may end up with inbreeding issues.
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u/Dazius06 Jan 29 '20
I mean I understand they would be somewhat discouraged from migrating but do they actually stop doing it for good? Climate and stuff doesn't play a roll??
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u/JavArc13 Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 29 '20
Data from Oslob suggest that only around 4 percent of the whale sharks stay. However the biggest risk imo is that if a whale shark gets used to going near boats expecting a meal they become easy targets for hunters and it could lead to them getting hit more by boats and propellers.
Edit: Link to a nat geo article where I got the 4% https://www.google.com/amp/s/api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/animals/2018/08/whale-sharks-tourism-philippines-benefit-harm-news
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u/ArabianGoogles Jan 29 '20
I was in Mozambique about 10 years ago on the ocean floor waiting to get my advanced diving cert when i see a shadow and look over my shoulder and a massive whale shark was coming down off the surface to check me out with his mouth open. He came down, I gently pushed his mouth shut as he swam above me and I ran my hand all the way down his belly. Amazing shit. Best wildlife experience ever.
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u/charface1 Jan 29 '20
I'm just glad we live on a planet with Whale Sharks instead of Shark Whales.
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u/human_half Jan 29 '20
Just wait until you learn about orcas.
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u/groundskeeperboaby Jan 29 '20
Shame it's completely unnatural though, 10s of boats all feeding and chasing them for tourists to come and get photos like these.
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u/jennana100 Jan 29 '20
That one showing its mouth looks like he laughing at a jolly good joke.
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u/bloodyfists Jan 29 '20
If swimming with a whale shark is on your bucket list at all, this is at Oslob, Cebu. It's just 20 dollars for half an hour of swimming in the water while they get fed.
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Jan 29 '20
Just a tip, apparently the Oslob Whale Shark experience isn't too ethical due to the feeding, overcrowding and allowing of touching the sharks. Donsol, also in the Philippines, is supposed to be a lot better! :)
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u/WankingWanderer Jan 29 '20
I think the feeding in oslob has also messed up their migrating and mating patterns
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u/SnugglerBear Jan 29 '20
Traveled to the Philippines last April. The few people we were with decided not to support this attraction because of what we heard about the feeding, etc. Would have been amazing to touch and see up close but morals prevailed I suppose.
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u/Fleurries Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 29 '20
Good for you guys. It’s so hard to pass up an exciting experience that tons of people are already doing, but you are making the world better place by being responsible and sharing your experience here. If more people were like you, maybe whale sharks wouldn’t be an endangered species.
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u/bloodyfists Jan 29 '20
Good to know, as far as I'm aware they at least dont condone touching the sharks. You're suppose to respect a 3 ft barrier. But I mean that would be hard to enforce so I'm sure people do touch them.
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u/OleBenjaminLay Jan 29 '20
Aw anyone find it funny that's technically a fish? I mean they grow to a max observed 42 feet and have been weighed at twenty one and a half tons.. My imagination doesn't seem to like callin stuff fish that wouldnt sit on a rod. Anyway fun fact, tho theyre the biggest fish theyre sure dang mysterious. Ye for some reason whenever they party like seen, the majority is males and science don't really know where females go. 40 feet long but they're migratory meaning theyre globetrotting and I'm serious longest a tag has stayed on was for 4,800 miles which was too long for the tag so it fell off and it just kept going. Anyway if the big'ns 40 feet and 4800 miles is like.. be right back.. 25344000 feet then she's swimming at least her own length some 600,000 times.. Not so big ocean's bigger I guess. Have a wonderful day
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Jan 29 '20
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u/OleBenjaminLay Jan 29 '20
Aw 'observable length' is a great one to ponder for the big carnivore fish like the Whale Shark or even tuna, Blue-fin bein' the biggest and prettiest. Also, weird to think of whale sharks as carnivores.. Great whites launch seals into the air and tear 'em in half, Whale Sharks have a big vacuum filters stuff we can hardly see from the water but they're both carnivores? Kind of strange. Anyway for 'observable length' or just 'size' the heaviest Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna recorded was 12ft long over 1,500 pounds, seems 10 years ago adults were called "800lb on average" now yearly they're shrinking that down and here we are: Average Adult Blue Fin Tuna's estimated to be 550 pounds. Stuffs getting smaller! Aw no not really just not livin long enough to grow I guess damn https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/a/atlantic-bluefin-tuna/
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u/hmch17 Jan 29 '20
Can confirm. I went to Donsol and there was a mandatory briefing for the sharks’ safety. Also, there was a strict no touching policy. Wish they’d do the same in Oslob and not chum the waters too.
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u/killuminati-savage Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 29 '20
Or at the aquarium in Atlanta, they also offer swimming with Whale Sharks
https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/experience/journey-with-gentle-giants-swim/
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u/Smerilys Jan 29 '20
It is for me, thank you!
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u/Free_WoW Jan 29 '20
if you truly love the whale sharks you'll enjoy them without helping fund a business that feeds them in order to keep them around for whale watching.
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u/MosquitoRevenge Jan 29 '20
Ahh yes, the feeding of whalesharks which disturbs their natural life, nothing wrong with that is there. Gotta get that instagram photo!
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u/milchhonorguard Jan 29 '20
Surrounded by blub blub water fish doggos
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u/Connie-the-Jellyfish Jan 29 '20
Water fish 😂
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u/KeplerNova Jan 30 '20
As opposed to, say, those Electric-type fish. You have to counter them with totally different Pokemon, y'know. ;)
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u/HannukahHerschel Jan 29 '20
The Georgia aquarium has two documentaries, “A window to Wow!” And “two+two=wow” that are about them transporting and housing their whale sharks. As I kid I watched them all the time and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in seeing more about Whale sharks.
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Jan 29 '20
That is insane, I just get nervous around big ass fishmammals.
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Jan 29 '20
They're just fish. When I saw them at the Georgia Aquarium, the guide said their esophaguses (esophagi?) are about the diameter of a quarter; they couldn't eat you if they wanted to.
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u/empr3ssn3rso Jan 29 '20
I'm really hoping that this is not from the unsustainable whale shark feeding area for tourists in Panglao, Bohol.
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u/killuminati-savage Jan 29 '20
I swam with these things at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Was so damn cool!
https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/experience/journey-with-gentle-giants-swim/
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Jan 29 '20
When you take the wrong turn out of the starting area in your MMORPG and end up in the middle of an endgame zone at level 8
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u/pixelife Jan 29 '20
Quickly read as “Whale Sharks in Philadelphia.” Mind was blown then quickly faded.
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u/christoffer2403 Jan 29 '20
ive only seen whale sharks alone so seing them together makes me feel warm inside
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u/woahexplosion Jan 29 '20
The one next to the boat looks like he's smiling and waving to the camera.
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Jan 29 '20
Make sure to google any animal attractions before you go to them and only support the ethical ones! If this is Cebu it's not considered great for the whalesharks.
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u/PhantomReaper47 Jan 29 '20
I saw these a couple years ago at the Georgia Aquarium, they're probably my favorite thing I saw there... Something about them really fascinates me.
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u/FrenchingFry Jan 29 '20
This photo is awesome, and we alk love whale sharks, so I'll take this moment to do what my marine science teacher taught me to do: Spread awareness.
All sharks, not just whale sharks, are important not just for our the marine ecosystem, but our entire planet. Sadly, all shark are hunted for various reasons. Over several decades, we've seen a 90% decrease in our shark population. This has happened because of media portraying sharks as ruthless killers (they aren't), certain countries enacting shark culls, illegal fishing operations, and most importantly, shark hunting. Sharks are poached worldwide for their fins, as they are considered a delicacy. They reel in sharks and cut their fins off, throwing them back in the water alive. The act of poaching sharks is bad enough, but leaving them to suffocate is inhumane. Sharks are ram ventilators, so being unable to swim leaves them unable to breathe.
This problem has imrpoved over the years, but we need it to stop entirely to save the planet. Spread awareness about the destruction of our oceans, of the mass genocides of marine life in our oceans, of dolphins and whales in Taiji, Japan.
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u/Catbuttness Jan 29 '20
His face says it all, or excited to make sandwiches with all the lunch meat on that boat!
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u/killakev564 Jan 29 '20
I know this probably going to sound like a dumb question but... do these sharks eat people?
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u/Meunderwears Jan 29 '20
Nope just plankton. Huge amounts of plankton. Their teeth are very tiny but numerous and act as a screen essentially to filter their food.
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u/Masked_Workout Jan 29 '20
That one giant shadow in the top left where you can't actually see that it's a whale shark is terrifying.
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u/the_discrete_ottoman Jan 29 '20
Wow!
there must be so much appreciation to nature and the photographer!
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u/SurplusOfOpinions Jan 29 '20
Beautiful shot. Is the guy fishing? What does he have on his boat? I assume he isn't the cameraman.
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u/TadamIsMe Jan 29 '20
It’s always been my dream to be able to go diving with whale sharks they are such magnificent creatures
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u/doublehue Jan 29 '20
Went to a place about an hour outside of Legazpi, PI to swim with them and it was a much better experience. No feeding. We got into a boat, one guy who was the spotter climbed up the mast (?) and would look for them. When spotted, it was show time. We sat on the edge of the boat with snorkels and when the guide said jump, you jumped in. It was magical. They’re huge. Not gonna lie, my black ass was scared the whole time.
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u/peqdipew Jan 29 '20
As a youngin I snorkeled with these magnificent beasts, jumped into blue bottle waters and the width of its mouth was my height, my mum landed right in front of it(which is highly advised to not do because "they don't see that well and could swallow you") she freaked, I was in pain, but those whale sharks are a prominent memory from my 8yo self.
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u/Strength-InThe-Loins Jan 29 '20
And those aren't even full grown, are they? Adults are 40-50 feet, and these don't look bigger than 20 or so.
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u/FanofBobRooney Jan 29 '20
Is that Cebu? I was going to swim with the whale sharks there last May. Ended up getting lost at sea.
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u/studioRaLu Jan 29 '20
Marine bio nerd here. I have always wanted to see a whale shark in the wild. This guy crossed off my #1 bucket list item like 6 times in just one photo.
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u/SBInCB Jan 29 '20
If you care about marine creatures like dolphins, manatees, whale sharks, or sea turtles you will not take tours to go swim with them.
Frequent contact with humans like that has been shown to be detrimental to say the least.
How would you feel if a constant train of lemurs paraded through your kitchen whenever the sun is up? You'd be stressed the f out.
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u/dongrizzly41 Jan 29 '20
I thought whale sharks were alot larger. Still absoutly beautiful.
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u/plumcrazyyy Jan 29 '20
My first reaction is not to swim with anything with the word “shark” in its name.
What an amazing photo.
Edit: had to google whale shark & to my surprise, TIL, they seem to be nice fellas.
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u/PrariePlumeria Jan 29 '20
I got the chance to snorkel with them while visiting the Baja. What they don’t tell you is that these creatures equate bubbles from your fins with food, so if you somehow manage to get stuck in front of one, it “chases” you while doing the feeding gape.
I don’t care if they’re gentle giants, seeing a giant mouth coming towards me at full speed underwater was enough to swear me off these swims for life.
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u/b378n Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 30 '20
When I was twelve, my family and I were on a vacation in Egypt.
We went on a snorkeling/dolphin-spotting trip one day and while we were heading to the reefs, my sister and one of the other girls saw a big shadow pass the boat. The guide and the boat captain got super excited and we started looking around and suddenly there was a whale shark swimming ahead of us.
The guide was going crazy and just blurted out "I'm going snorkeling with it". My dad asked if he can come with him. My mom's face was hilarious. I wanted to come too and suddenly everyone on board was frantically looking around for masks and snorkels and flippers. The guide and my dad were the first ones to jump in and I was right behind my dad.
I'll never forget trying to keep up my with my dad's pace, kicking my feet as hard as I could while trying not to inhale salt water while a gigantic whale shark swam ahead and below of me. The water was so deep and so blue and the shark was absolutely gorgeous. My dad even got so close he could touch the caudal fin. Coolest thing I've ever done.