A massive whale shark supported a snorkeler on its nose and rode off with him.
In footage taken on June 6 in Oslob, Cebu province, the marine animal is seen pushing a guy to the water's surface.
Before departing the area with the other whale sharks, the animal allowed the man to perch on his face for around five seconds.
Cris Cyril Tampus, the delighted visitor, said: “We went there to watch the whales but one of them gave me a ride. It was a special moment for me.”
The largest fish in the world, whale sharks can grow up to 60 feet long. They swim around with their jaws open, feeding on microscopic plankton and other tiny marine creatures. They are reputed to be kind giants who don’t threaten people.
With an average of 120,000 tourists per year, Oslob town has developed into a popular tourist destination for whale shark viewing activities. However, when a survey revealed that at least 95 per cent of the whale sharks spotted in the area in 2020 were scarred or injured, experts discourage the activity.
Whale sharks dive to a depth of about 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) in search of food, and then they surface to warm up and recover before their next dive.
The director of international media for Humane Society International, Wendy Higgins, told Newsweek that human interactions such as this can cause “harassment and stress and disrupts their natural behavior such as feeding or resting, forcing them to use energy in the interaction that they might not otherwise do”.
“Touching whale sharks also risks disturbing the protective mucus they have on their skin. While whale sharks may be relatively docile and slow-moving, interactions with people and boats in the wild risk causing them harassment and stress and disrupt their natural behavior such as feeding or resting, forcing them to use energy in the interaction that they might not otherwise do,” Higgins said.
“The best way to enjoy seeing whale sharks in the wild is from a safe and respectful distance,” she added.
