Information About the Basking Shark

By, Crystal S. Kauffman, Contributing Writer

---

The basking shark is considered the second largest fish or shark, when compared to the whale shark. According to Sharks-World, this gigantic creature is also known as Cetorhinus Maximus, by scientists and researchers who collect vital information from these animals. Thankfully, they do not prefer to eat humans instead they filter feed, just as the whale shark does. They are slow moving and an unusually large mouth. In which they filter feed.

They are not dangerous to humans, because the giant shark is usually enjoying using its wide mouth to eat plankton. They have gills which filter out the items that they don't want, while allowing them to eat all the plankton that they want. According to Sharks-World, these giant sharks can measure up to 33 feet long and the shark can weigh up to 4 tons. The most common names are the big-mouth shark, sun-fish, bone shark, and elephant shark.

The basking shark enjoys swimming and living in the coastal waters, which are warmer and offer plenty of plankton to snack on. Additionally, these giant sharks may travel alone or in groups of over 100 members, as well as travel with their mate. According to Sharks-World, they tend to stay near the surface, so they can filter feed using their mouth to process 1500 gallons of water each hour. These amazing animals are in need of protection before they become extinct and future generation will never get to see one up close.
 
The commercial fishing industry allows shark hunting for meat and shark liver oils, as well as other valuable parts of the shark that can be sold on the open market. According to Sharks-World, sometimes these giant sharks are mistaken for a great white shark, but the basking shark has smaller eyes and large gills. This shark's mouth is about 3 foot wide, which allows them filter feed using the gill rakes found in the sharks gills that encircle its head.

The sharks don't hibernate but they do migrate to deep waters or other coastal areas, during certain seasons. According to Sharks-World, these sharks vary in colors like blue, white, dark brown, and black which may identifying one a little difficult unless you know what they look like. However, In order to keep the giant sharks from being hunted, we as a generation must try to offer some type of protection now. If not, we will lose all chances of our future generations ever seeing a basking shark, except in school books or the encyclopedia.

References:

Sharks-World.com (2015) Basking Sharks
Retrieved from the World Wide Web on July 16, 2015
http://www.sharks-world.com/basking_shark/