Of Whale Sharks and Rescues!

It's 0800 and folks around our RV are starting to make an appearance.  As I open the door, thinking I'm about to take the dogs out, my eyes fall on the flat calm water of the bay….everything as usual, except for one thing.  One, VERY BIG thing!  A whale shark is cruising past our campsite!!

Dorsal fin of whale shark

Activity all a-flurry now.  Fast, get the dogs out, then, get the dogs in!  It's the outdoor travel kennel for Sparky and Skipper extra snoozing inside the RV.  Launch the kayaks, find the paddles and lifejackets….whew!  Oh, and a camera!  We're soon off floating with a small group of beach campers…and one whale shark!

Ahoy!  Whale shark shadow dead ahead!

Coyote kayakers

Debbie….why are you looking down?  Directly DOWN?

This morning we are graced with the company of what we decide is a juvenile whale shark, due to it's size and the shape of the tail fin.  The length of this beautiful "big fish"….is approximately 25 feet, and the tail fin is larger on the top half than the bottom, as is characteristic of young whale sharks.  Since adults can be an average of 40 feet, and some have been reported to reach 60 feet in length, we decide that "Sharky" is just a youngster.

It's really difficult to get great photos of an 25 foot, mostly underwater big (and powerful looking) animal….so here's one from a book on wildlife of the Sea of Cortez.  You get the idea, but it still doesn't look all that "big."  Not until you are next to it, in a little light kayak and the body seems to go on and on….and on.

Whale shark book photo

When I see this mouth headed my direction….I find myself back paddling fast and furious.

The mouth can be 3 - 4 feet across!!

Here's a photo my friend Ramie took the next day, when my friend Deb was out paddle boarding.  She was very surprised to see the whale shark had returned and there she was…no longer in her kayak, but….yes, the SUP!  You can just see her reflection in the water above the whale shark.

Photo by Ramie Liddle

Last year we were not on the whale shark travel itinerary.   Warmer temperatures usually bring warmer water temperatures, and that seems to be something whale sharks like.  This year has been much warmer.  Right now the day temperatures often reach 90 degrees!  The water is about 68 - 70 degrees!  Perfect for swimming….for me…and apparently also for these awesome creatures.

Sharky spent about two hours in the bay on this day.  Surprisingly, a whale shark showed up again the next day for the entire morning.  Wouldn't you know, we were in town and missed most of the opportunity for an encounter.

However, the next day, Sunday, we once again had not one, but two whale sharks cruising Coyote Bay, skimming for plankton.  On  Sundays it's not unusual to have some local Mexican families or young folks enjoying the beach.  As Steve and I head out to see what we could see, I notice two kayaks headed out.  It's pretty easy to tell a novice paddler and as it turns out, the well meaning folks who lent the young men their boats forgot to ask a few very important questions: Do you know how to paddle a kayak?  Do you know how to swim?  Oh, and they also forgot to give them lifejackets.

The splash of the kayak capsizing draws my attention right away.  The look on the young man's face, when he finally surfaced, told me he needed assistance.  Soon about 5 very "splashy swimmers" were turning up the water trying to get out to their amigo.  However, Ramie and I arrived quickly in our boats as we were nearby.

Ramie tows while Nan holds boat and crew

We managed, with a little limited Spanish, to get a lifejacket on him, and convince him to let go of Ramie's boat so she could be a tow vehicle, while a friend connected our two boats with his arms, and I held on to the capsized boat and person in the water.  Whew.

This has been an incredible week in the company of whale sharks.  We've had several different ones feeding in the the bay.  Researchers have identified some of the world's whale sharks as each as its own distrinctive pattern of spots.  We notice that the size of the whales sharks visiting our bay vary from about 20 to 40 feet in length.  I learn that females carry up to 300 pups, but most likely single births occur over a long time.  The new pups are 16 - 24 inches in length at birth.  (I can just imagine that cute little two footer!)  The life span is up to 70 - 100 years of age, with sexual maturity around 30 years.  The food they are hunting is mostly plankton although there are some reports of very small schooling fish being prey, which they catch by filter feeding.

Of the two visitors yesterday, one I recognize from the day before,  due to notches out of the trailing edge of the dorsal fin.  It is a juvenile, because the size is about twice that of my 10 ft. paddle board.  So, "Notch" spent the entire day, into dusk, cruising back and forth of our campsite.  The larger visitor was darker in color and longer, maybe about 25 - 30ft.

My pal,  Notch, swimming by

Just paddling with my new friend….

For sure, an awesome week of whale shark visits.  Today the wind has kicked up and the waves are rushing onto the shore.  If our new friends are out there, we don't see them.  But, we DO remember them.  And we will for a very, very long time!

Nan and Notch

Hasta la Vista!!!