Thanks to my friends over at Neutral Dive Gear, I was alerted to a story breaking in numerous online publications today.  It appears that wildlife activists in Pilar, a small town on the eastern side of the Philippines, have found what is believed to be the smallest whale shark ever found in Philippines waters.  At just over 15 inches in length, representatives of the World Wide Fund for Nature say that the tiny whale shark is the smallest living specimen they have ever encountered.  It was found in shallow water and was tied by the tail to a small rope on the beach.  Officials  quickly removed the tiny whale shark from the shallow water and released it in deeper seas.

The Philippines has long been recognized as a transit point for migrating whale sharks.  The presence of this extremely small juvenile shark may be the first indication that the waters around the Philippines are actually a “birthing” ground for the gigantic animals.  Very few juvenile whale sharks have been spotted near the Philippines, making it difficult to confirm the area as an important link in the reproductive habits 0f the whale shark.

We will keep a keen watch for additional information on whale sharks in the Philippines waters and will update this post as required.

Phil Ellis

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Photo from Yahoo! News and Associated Press International