Galapagos Whale Shark Diving

Mar 12
19:26

2007

Eric Castro

Eric Castro

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

The shark whale (Rhincodon typus) it is the biggest fish in the world, an immense creature that can surpass the 15 meters of total longitude and to end up weighing more than 20 t. aerodynamic, lengthened and robust body, their line can measure more than 2,5 m from side to side and its great mouth has capacity to swallow a person swiming.

mediaimage
Aerodynamic,Galapagos Whale Shark Diving Articles lengthened and robust body, spotted dark gray color, with white or yellowish moles in the whole body. It is darker than most of the sharks. The same as the true whales, it only feeds of plankton and of small fish. When anything near the surface, ingests big swigs of water and it filters the food through the gills. Their color is gray with the white stomach. It is not easy to see, although they sometimes collide against the ships.

It has a wide and flat muzzle, and their jaws are armed for multitude of small teeth with more than three functional lines. The branchial fissures are very big.

Their eggs are the biggest in the world and they can reach the 30 cm long. Much of their development is not known because the young copies are allowed to very rarely see.

This shark inhabits warm and tropical temperate waters. It is believed that it arrives after a very long migration trip, being identified for the first time in 1828, in the costs of Sudáfrica. Their maximum longitude is ignored but the 18 m can be about it. Also we can say that not for its size it is the quickest in the fish but just the opposite, its speed is relatively slow for such a big fish.

This impressive animal for their size and attractiveness for their tranquility and meekness, it can be seen in repeated occasions during a Galapagos diving tour for the islands but far from the archipelago, especially between the months of August and October. The itineraries include the famous Islands Darwin and Wolf, where we will have bigger opportunities to observe this magnificent animal. In Ecuadorian agencies that organize cruises exist of until 10 or 15 days with several immersions to be able to observe this marine giant. A diving cruise offers three or four immersions per day. It is also possible to carry out night immersions if the conditions are favorable. The guides Dive Masters is well trained and they are very experts of the marine and terrestrial life of the Galapagos. Their work consists on to teach about the unique environment of Tortoises and to take care of the security and the passengers' well-being.

Besides being able to observe this incredible animal, the area of the islands Darwin and Wolf offer all practically those that a diver wants to experience.

Wolf is a small island located to the North end of the Galapagos. Their banks with high cliffs are replete of marine birds, as "piqueros" of red paws, masked "piqueros", frigates, gulls of forked line, and others. The submarine topography of this Galapagos island is composed mainly of vertical walls, replete of the biggest variety in species of fish of the Tortoises. The islands Wolf and Darwin attract enormous banks of sharks hammer, which usually bring many parasites. The small fish in the hillsides and walls of these islands remove and they eat up to the parasites of the sharks, for what has called them to him stations of cleaning for sharks to these islands and of feeding for big and small fish. There are 6 different diving places around Wolf.

Darwin is even smaller than Wolf. To less than a mile room to the south, be a beautiful rock with arch form, around which the diving can be the best of the best thing!!From July to December practically can guarantee several encounters with the biggest fish in the ocean, the Shark Whale (almost 17 meters). The Arch of Darwin almost offers all that a diver wanted to observe: Enormous banks of shark hammer, sharks of Tortoises, sharks Silky, brown, swear them of big eyes, swear them of blue, old specks, beautiful of the indo-peaceful one, you line spotted, green turtles, turtles of parrot pick, dolphin bottle nose.