When we consider the world’s biggest shark, a threatening image comes to mind – a terrifying, jaw-snapping creature that could tear through a boat of humans in one bite. The reality, it turns out, is very different.
Whale sharks might be the largest sharks in the world (as well as the planet's biggest fish – and one of the biggest ocean animals overall), but they’re also one of the least threatening. Renowned for their docile, curious personalities, whale sharks move at slow speeds and primarily consume small fish and tiny organisms.
Here, our photo gallery gives a glimpse into the lives – and the mouths – of these enormous filter feeders.
Whale shark photos
Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the world, growing to around 9m-12m in length – although they can grow larger than this (photo by kampee patisena via Getty Images)
Whale sharks migrate thousands of miles, gathering in large numbers at the same sites year on year to feast on fish during spawning season (photo by Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)Whale sharks pull in enormous amounts of water through their mouths as they feed (up to 60,000 litres per hour), and this water is passed through five large pairs of slits which extract the oxygen (photo by Jeff Rotman via Getty Images)Feeding whale shark in Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua, Indonesia. Despite their vast size, whale sharks eat very small planktonic organisms, such as krill and plankton (photo by Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Whale sharks at the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia (photo by Samuel J Coe via Getty Images)Like baleen whales, whale sharks are filter feeders. They swim slowly into patches of food, sieving their prey before consuming it. The sea water is then filtered and expelled through their gills (photo by James D Morgan via Getty Images)
Close-up of the mouth of a whale shark in the Gulf of Tadjourah, Djibouti, Indian Ocean. Djibouti is a world-famous site for whale sharks, especially in the Gulf of Tadjourah and in the Ghoubetal-Kharab (photo by Alexis Rosenfeld via Getty Images)A whale shark feeding close to the surface in Oslob, Philippines. Whale sharks have tiny 'teeth' (dermal denticles) on their inner eyelids, covering their eyeballs for protection (photo by Steve De Neef/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Whale sharks feed beneath fishermen's boats in Oslob, Philippines. One of the biggest female whale sharks ever recorded measured 18.8m in length – longer than a tenpin bowling lane (photo by Steve De Neef/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Whale shark skeletons are made from cartilage instead of bone (photo by Alexis Rosenfeld via Getty Images)
Roughy 75 per cent of the whale sharks live in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and 25 per cent in the Atlantic (photo by Hugo Ortuño via Getty Images)Snorkeller swims above a whale shark in the Seychelles. Whale sharks are the world's largest shark, followed by the basking shark (photo by Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
