{"id":869,"date":"2016-07-12T23:50:32","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T23:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/?p=869"},"modified":"2017-09-08T10:36:30","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T00:36:30","slug":"deep-chats-interview-whale-shark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adventuretours.com.au\/australia-outback-yarns\/deep-chats-interview-whale-shark\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep Chats: Interview with a Whale Shark"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t know what I expected\u00a0swimming alongside a Whale Shark<\/a> to remind me of, but what I didn\u2019t expect it to remind me of was being a journalist chasing around a (tubby) politician who\u2019s just been embroiled in a scandal, asking for comments.<\/p>\n

You see, first the sea planes (paparazzi) put the call through to your boat (editor) advising that they\u2019ve spotted your subject. Next follows a mad dash to get kitted up with your gear \u2013 snorkel, mask, fin, recording devices \u2013 as your boat captain (chauffeur) gets you where your subject is expected to surface. You jump into the water, dive staff (security) corral you into a line, and you\u2019re instructed to wait. You wait. You bob. You start wondering whether you\u2019ve been hoodwinked. And then, from out of the blue, your subject appears, drifting a slow but inexorable path in your direction. For a few moments, time hovers; you and your contingent\u00a0cease jostling about\u00a0and simply stare on in disbelief. The creature, your subject \u2013 (who is much larger than the photos you’d seen of them had you expecting) \u2013 drifts nonchalantly past, scarcely an arm\u2019s length away\u2026 And then, suddenly, it\u2019s on. The call is made and you\u2019re allowed to give chase. GoPros stretched out\u00a0in front, you and your mob break formation in a flurry of fin flaps and desperate attempt to keep pace. \u2018Sir, are the allegations against you true?\u2019 \u2018Minister, any comments on the accused?\u2019 \u2018Madame Speaker, do you categorically deny all\u00a0charges?\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Selects

The author with his subject.<\/p><\/div>\n

This, at least, is how things seemed to me. And so, finding myself in such company, I asked Mr. Whale Shark a few questions. Here\u2019s what he had to say.<\/p>\n

So, fella, tell me a bit about yourself.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Well, I was born in the Maldives but have spent most of my youth up cruising up and down the WA coastline. I\u2019m about 6 years old and 7 metres long.<\/p>\n

Is that about normal size for your age?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I like to think I\u2019m a little bigger than most.<\/p>\n

\u2026You\u2019re a male aren\u2019t you?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

How\u2019d you know?<\/p>\n

Just a hunch. So, how big do you think you\u2019ll grow?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Hard to say. The biggest whale shark ever confirmed was 12 metres, but there are plenty of unconfirmed reports of us being 15, 18, even 21 metres long.<\/p>\n

Wow.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Yeah, we\u2019re the world\u2019s biggest animal that isn\u2019t a whale.<\/p>\n

About that, clear something up for me would you. What are you: a whale or a shark?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I\u2019m a shark.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s with the whale suffix then? Is that just to make your sound more regal or something?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

No, it\u2019s because I\u2019m the size of a whale and, like whales, I love eating plankton. Plus it\u2019s your mob who gave me that name anyway \u2013 it\u2019s not like I came up with it. Were it up to me I\u2019d be going by the name the Vietnamese call me: Ca Ong<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s that mean?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Lord Fish.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s pretty regal.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Damn straight. And it\u2019s certainly better than what the Taiwanese call me.<\/p>\n

Which is?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Tofu Fish.<\/p>\n

Haha! Why do they call you that?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Well, it\u2019s a bit sad actually\u2026 supposedly the taste and texture of our flesh is a little like tofu.<\/p>\n

What? But how would anyone know that?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Unfortunately in some Asian countries we\u2019re considered a delicacy. If you don\u2019t mind, I\u2019d actually quite like to use this opportunity to ask your readership not<\/em> to eat us. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists us as vulnerable. And honestly, why would you eat us anyway? We\u2019re chill.<\/p>\n

Sure thing. You heard the shark, people: Don\u2019t eat Whale Shark. In fact, don\u2019t eat any whale. Or any shark.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Also, there are a few of us in aquariums around the world. Please don\u2019t go and visit us in these. We shouldn\u2019t be in them. Come swim with us in our natural habitat instead. By the by, what did it set you back to come see me?<\/p>\n

With Kings Ningaloo Reef Tours, $350<\/strong><\/h5>\n

A princely sum! \u2026Am I worth it?<\/p>\n

Absolutely. It\u2019s a full-day tour with all gear and a super yum lunch included, and you also gotta consider that the price factors in planes that fly out to spot you. You\u2019re the third whale shark I\u2019ve dived with today. Plus we\u2019ve seen dolphins, snorkelled reefs, swam with turtles and manta rays\u2026 I accidentally scared the manta rays away because I got all excited and swam too close to them.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Yeah, you gotta be careful with manta rays. They scare easy.<\/p>\n