How Do Whale Sharks Travel?

Caudal Fin

• Sharks, like many other fish, use their caudal fin, or what is commonly referred to as the tail fin, to provide forward momentum. They do this by sweeping the fin back and forth, much like a human diver would sweep fins attached to his feet back and forth, though on a different axis in the case of a diver. Whale sharks, unlike many other sharks, sweep their entire body, including their caudal fin, from side to side.

Steering

• Whale sharks, like most other fish, use their caudal fin, along with the many other fins on their body, to steer themselves through the water and travel in a given direction. The pectoral fins, which are positioned similar to the wings on an airplane would be, are responsible for a great deal of the steering performed by a shark. The dorsal fin, which is the one that emerges from the water in many shark horror movies, is another important fin.

Habitat

• Like many other sharks, whale sharks do spend time alone, but are also known to travel with other whale sharks and to gather together, for mating and other social purposes. The common habitats that the whale shark travels in are warm waters. Though whale sharks are listed as a vulnerable species, they are found throughout the world in all tropical seas.

Migration

• Whale sharks are also known to migrate. Though whale sharks populate tropical seas throughout the world, they migrate, every spring, to the continental shelf off the central west coast of Australia. The Ningaloo Reef there is an ideal spot for whale sharks to ingest large amounts of plankton, which is one of their main food sources.