Diver's crash with huge whale shark (video)
A diver had something of a shock when an enormous whale shark seems to appear from nowhere - and crashes right into him.
The cameraman was diving with a friend and seemed to be completely oblivious to the huge creature 'creeping' up behind him.
Indeed, he can even be heard letting out a scream when the whale cruises into him.
After the initial shock, the pair let out a few elated laughs and appear to appreciate that a) they're still alive, and b) how incredible it is to be so close to such an amazing animal.
The whale shark is a slow-moving filter feeding shark and the largest known fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 12.65m (41.5ft) and a weight of more than 21.5 metric tons (47,000lb), and unconfirmed reports of considerably larger whale sharks exist.
Claims of individuals over 14m (46ft) long and weighing at least 30mt (66,000lb) are not uncommon.
The whale shark is found in tropical and warm oceans and lives in the open sea, with a lifespan of about 70 years.[3] Whale sharks have very large mouths, and as filter feeders, they feed mainly on plankton. The BBC program Planet Earth filmed a whale shark feeding on a school of small fish. The same documentary showed footage of a whale shark timing its arrival to coincide with the mass spawning of fish shoals and feeding on the resultant clouds of eggs and sperm.
Whale sharks are not aggressive and there has been no recorded incidents of any attacks on humans.
\
Related articles
Surfer almost swallowed whole by huge basking shark in Cornwall (video)
Rare megamouth shark caught off coast of Japan
