Upon a return trip from snorkeling at Molokini, a tuff cone in Maui County waters, tired passengers and crew came across an amazing surprise:  a 17 feet long female whale shark!  The captain brought the vessel to a slow halt and allowed all, who wanted, to jump in with mask and fins.  Crew, videographers, and passengers slid into the water next to this beauty and enjoyed her presence.

Whale sharks, although seen more in the summer months when some species of coral are spawning, are being seen with more regularity than past years, but researchers are not sure why.

We tell our visitors about whale sharks having approximately 300 rows of teeth in each jaw and how a single tooth has a cusped hook.  They are amazed to learn that these large animals do not use their teeth to feed, instead they suck in their food, which consists of quite a variety from squid, tuna, small crustaceans, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and macroalgae.

They were in awe when we explained how this species is the largest fish on the planet, and this large female was probably not sexually mature as researchers believe that happens when both sexes are over 9 meters in length.  It is fun to share that most researchers agree these animals could, theoretically live to be quite old, some tagged individuals have been known to be around 60 years of age.

As everyone watched her swim away after sharing about 20 minutes of her time, all felt deeply happy and satisfied.  Everyone knew that what had just happened during their ride back to the harbor on this special 'marine safari', was truly a gift.

Photo Courtesy Jim Friend Productions