By Isaac Schultz Published January 7, 2025 | Comments (0) | A male whale shark following close behind a female. Photo: Frontiers in Marine Science (2024) Even the biggest fish in the sea have their secretsbut now, scientists have captured rare footage of whale shark courtship behaviors, offering new insights into the elusive sex lives of these giants. The video was captured in May 2024. Researchers entered the water after getting tipped off by a spotter plane that sighted a female whale shark in 131-feet-deep (40 meters) waters off Western Australias Ningaloo Reef. Shortly after sampling that shark, a male whale shark came along, and the research team took video footage of the two sharks interactions. The teams research was published this month in Frontiers in Marine Science. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are elasmobranchsthe group of cartilaginous fish that includes sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish. Whale sharks also happen to be the largest fish in the world, typically measuring about 30 feet (9 m) long. According to the American Museum of Natural History, one of the biggest-ever whale sharks was nearly 61.67 feet (18.8 m) long. The largest known whale shark egg, found in 1953, was nearly a foot (0.3 m) long.The animals mating behaviors remains fairly enigmaticcourtship has only been observed off the Saint Helena Islands and at Ningaloo Reef.At Ningaloothe sight of the recently described behaviormale whale sharks outnumber females three to one, based on data collected from over 1,000 sharks in the area in the last decade. Sharks off Saint Helena have been observed positioning themselves in a belly-to-belly formation, though the recent encounter didnt get that far. In the May 2024 event, the team observed the male shark follow and lunge multiple times at the female. The male shark increased its swimming speed and lunged again at the caudal fin of the female, this time making contact and briefly biting the tail, the team reported. The female responded by rapidly pivoting with pectoral fins pointing downwards to face the male.But the recent pair wasnt made in heaven. The female turned away from the male and rapidly descended to depth. The team stated that the behaviors they observed did not appear to result in successful mating, though its possible the two sharks coupled in deep water. The team concluded that the female they observed may not have been sexually mature based on its size. Whale sharks are an endangered species. According to AMNH, the species population may have declined by 50% in the last 75 years. The whales are illegally hunted for their meat, are caught as bycatch, and their habitats are harmed by oil spills, plastic pollution, and human shipping and tourist activity.The recent video shows that in spite of many threats, the giant fish is nevertheless persistingthough perhaps not for this particular couple. Love is in the airer, waterfor whale sharks, and scientists managed to capture it on camera.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Ed Cara Published January 3, 2025 By Ed Cara Published December 27, 2024 By Harri Weber Published December 23, 2024 By Isaac Schultz Published December 12, 2024 By Isaac Schultz Published December 11, 2024 By Isaac Schultz Published December 4, 2024