Many of us are familiar with the Whale Shark – the media darling of peaceful, large sharks. However, the Whale Shark doesn’t really look like a shark, it looks more like its name infers, a whale. Well today I wanted to feature a more ’shark-looking’, yet still peaceful, shark – the Basking Shark.
I am fortunate enough to have seen Basking Sharks in the wild off of Cape Cod, MA. Due to their surface-inclined feeding behavior, their large dorsal fin often protrude from the surface of the water in a stereotypical fashion. When I first saw this I was astounded by the sheer size of the fin, and not knowing it was a basking shark, the sight of the fin set shivers and excitement shooting through my body. I soon found out it was a Basking Shark, a peaceful, tooth-less species of shark that eats via filter feeding.
Unfortunately, this graceful species of shark cannot escape man’s greedy desire for her, and they are regularly sacrificed for their enormous, and valuable, fins. As a result, the Basking Shark is now listed as a species that is “globally vulnerable to extinction”.
I hope I don’t have to look back on my encounter with this species of sharks as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
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WHHHOOOAAAA!!! That is insane! I’ve never seen anything like that, lucky you!