Research attaches tracking tag to shark whale

A huge whale shark named Coco swam 1,400 kilometres in three weeks with a research team in tow to help provide data for a request to protect the threatened animals' migratory routes. The whale shark project team has shared spectacular photographs and footage of the gentle giant's trek from the Galapagos Islands to the Costa Rican Isla del Coco, a trip of more than 1,400 kilometres, which the 12-metres long shark covered betweeen 14th August and 5th September. The whale shark is the largest fish that ever lived, even bigger than the now extinct megalodon, but is completely harmless to humans. It is a filter feeders and scoops up plankton and small fish as it swims through the ocean with its huge mouth agape. Whale sharks can reach up to 18 metres in length and weigh as much as 20 metric tonnes. Unfortunately, they are also endangered. The global population has gone from plentiful to near extinction in only a couple of decades due to chemical and plastic polution of the oceans and the effects of industrial fishing. Despite their impressive size, it is very difficult to monitor whale sharks and virtually impossible to estimate how many whale sharks are left, since they are loners and wander great distances.