Whale shark habitat

The whale shark inhabits all tropical seas in the world, they are mostly pelagic, but there are seasons in which they migrate to coastal áreas like Ningaloo reef in occidental Australia, Utila in Honduras, Donsol y Batangas in the Philippines, Holbox Island and near Isla Mujeres in the state of Quintana Roo and the Yucatan and Baja California peninsulas in Mexico, the Zanzibar archipiélago islands (Pemba and Unguja), the Tanzania coast, Coiba and Las Perlas archipiélago in Panama.

The whale shark will be found mostly in the open ocean but it’s also possible to find it near the coast, entering lagoons, reef atolls and near river mouths. They remain inside 30° latitude and at a depth of 700 meters.

They tend to act alone but, sometimes, they form small groups to feed themselves in big food concentration zones. In 2011 more tan 400 whale sharks gathered off the Isla Mujeres coast, this is considered to be the largest aggregation of whale sharks ever recorded.

Aggregations in the Yucatan peninsula, near Isla Mujeres and Cancun, are the most numerous seasonal gatherings for whale sharks anywhere in the world. This gatherings take place between May and September and it is when the whale shark snorkeling season takes place in the area.

Keywords: Whale sharks, whale shark season, Yucatan peninsula, Isla Mujeres, Cancun, Whale shark aggregations