Really? But they're gonna eat us alive.
Yes, we can swim with whalesharks, but they won't eat us alive, at least not until the end of the world.
Talking about whaleshark, many people think that it's beast and human predator. But no. Instead, they're very kind and gentle animals. Fish, to be exact. Big fish. Biggest fish.
Whalesharks (latin: Rhyncodon typus) is the largest kind of shark and the largest fish we have on this planet. The reason why it's called whaleshark is because their massive body size that's like whales, and their diet which is plankton and small tiny fish, again, just like some of the whales.
So, are they shark or whales? Fish or mammals?
They're shark which makes them fish, and the biggest fish thanks to their gigantic size. We can see the differences between fish and mammals from its tails. Fish tails are vertical, and mammal tails are horizontal. And of course, fish use gills while mammals use lungs to breathe. That's why you'll never find a whaleshark with sprouts, of course it just makes no sense.
It lives and hangs around the tropical water. They love warmth. So Indonesia is one of the best places to reside. We can see them in Kaimana, West Papua and around Cenderawasih Bay. Other places we have a chance to see them are in Gorontalo, north coast of East Java, the Philippines, Maldives and other tropical waters.
Now let's go to Kaimana to watch them.
The Bicary Bay area is where we can find them around. The best time to visit is from October to May. We don't recommend you to visit on June, July, or August as the weather is so hilarious, just bad. And no whaleshark at that time. The Bicary Bay can be reached from Kaimana by using longboat, and it takes around 1 hour. We gotta get up early as it comes up to the surface from 6-7 to and it swims back to depth when they're full.
Wait, we come when they're having breakfast? Let's just say yes.
In Bicary Bay, there are bagans (fishing platform floating and guarded by fishermen, and it's like floating hut for fishing), and the whaleshark will come visit the bagans. Usually, they like half-residing near certain bagans where they can get small fish from the fishermen's nets.
Once we arrive, we need to buy the baitfish the bagan men sell. It costs 250-400 thousand rupiahs per box. The bagan men will slowly throw the baitfish to the water to keep the giant on the surface while the visitors have quality time swimming, snorkeling or even diving. Or we can try to get up to the bagan and feed the fish from above, just be careful it's slippery as hell. If lucky, there are also free rider dolphins, marlins, giant trevally swimming around and grab the free food. It's feeding frenzy!
Note:
Please brings lots of fresh water as it's long journey and it's hot. Human needs to stay hydrated.
You can actually arrange your stay and trip by looking at info on www.tritonbaydivers.com