You never know what you will find in the ocean.
It’s full of beautiful and dangerous creatures. When a group of divers came across one of the largest animals in the sea, they were caught a little off-guard. While they had encountered many sea creatures over the years, this one was different.
It was huge, and it looked like it could easily swallow them in one gulp.
Most people would have taken one look at it and got out of there as fast as they could. These divers were about to do something amazing. They were going to help it.
The creature was a whale shark, and it was caught in a rope. They could tell it was nervous to see them, and they knew that if they didn’t help it, it would die. The divers were nervous, too. They wanted to help but weren’t sure how the massive fish would react to their presence. It was already in pain from the rope and clearly agitated. Would it be OK with them coming closer to it? They decided they had to try.
The whale shark seemed to sense that they were there to help it and allowed them to approach.
One of the divers took out a knife and started to cut the rope. The rope had been wrapped around the whale shark for so long that it had started to grow into its skin. It took less than a minute for the diver to cut into the rope.
Once the rope was cut, the whale shark went on its way, and so did the divers. They were relieved that they were able to help it. One of the divers happened to record the entire thing, and they later shared the footage. People were amazed at how big and gentle the whale shark was and was thankful that the divers took the time to help it.
Although whale sharks might be huge, they aren’t aggressive and aren’t likely to harm a human.
They are filter feeders and eat plankton and krill through their giant mouths. According to See The Wild:
“Whale sharks are the largest fish on the planet. These gentle giants are filter-feeders and are harmless to humans. Other whale shark facts include reaching lengths of over 40 feet while feeding on only the tiniest of ocean organisms – plankton!
“Whale sharks are striking in their appearance not only for their size but also for their unique pattern of spots and bars covering its gray body. The whale shark is popular with eco-tourists hoping to snorkel alongside these gentle giants. Whale sharks are the largest living fish on the planet.
“They belong to the group called Chondrichthyes, which includes sharks, rays, and skates. These fish have skeletons made entirely of cartilage in comparison to other fishes that have skeletons made of bone. Little else is known about the life history of this elusive giant.”
Sadly, these gentle giants get caught in fishing nets and ropes often.
The anglers don’t mean to catch or hurt the whale sharks, but they also don’t always help them, either. An experienced diver who goes by the name Tuxus explained:
“If the fishermen release the nets for the sharks to leave, they will lose the catch of a whole night. If they don’t, the whale sharks will eat all the small fish and eventually tear apart the nets to get out. This situation may create a conflict where the sharks will always lose.”
He explained that the divers just happened to be in the right place at the right time and were lucky to have been able to help the whale shark.
He and a group of divers saved a whale shark several years ago from a fishing net. He said:
“On that particular day, we were close to the fishing boat and offered our help to release the sharks without losing the whole night’s catch, our divers pulling down the nets a little and pushing up the sharks.”
Hopefully, this video motivates other divers to be more aware of the animals around them and help them when possible.
Hopefully, it also makes anglers more aware of the problems they are causing when they don’t consider the other animals in the ocean.
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