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Whale Sharks Research Paper

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Whale Sharks Research Paper
Marine Life Encounters

A

t some point every scuba diver dreams of diving with a whale shark (Rhiniodon Typus), the biggest fish in the sea! Like many divers, I traveled the globe for years searching for them but to no avail. I always seemed to hear the same old thing – “you should have been here last week.” In my mind, whale sharks were the “unicorns of the sea.” This all changed this past summer with a trip to Isla Mujeres, Mexico – a place recognized as having the world’s largest aggregation of whale sharks.

Whale Sharks of Isla Mujeres
Story & Photos by Douglas Ebersole
Pg 21 www.UnderwaterJournal.com
Issue 21 - 2011

Isla Mujeres is a small island located due east of off the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. It is about 8 miles across the Bay of Women (Bahia Mujeres) and still within sight of its neighbor to the west, Cancun. The island is approximately five miles long and one half mile wide at it’s widest point. Legend has it that the island was once recognized by the Mayan people as a sanctuary, dedicated to Ixchel, the goddess of love and fertility. Supposedly, when the Spanish arrived they found a large number of women statues carved in stone in honor of the goddess, and it is from here that the island gets its name “Isla Mujeres,” the island of women. Pg 22 www.UnderwaterJournal.com
Issue 21 - 2011

Long famous for …show more content…
With my past disappointments, I was not greedy. I was simply hoping for the opportunity to get in the water and photograph a single whale shark. Thankfully, we were blessed with sunny skies, flat seas, warm crystal clear water, and HUNDREDS of whale sharks. These gentle giants seemed oblivious to the snorkelers sharing the water with them. They ignored us and simply swam around at the surface slowly feeding on the bonito eggs. Pg 27
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