Snorkeling/diving with whale sharks in Belize

[Tripatini]

Summertime is a special season in Belize, not because the weather heats up (Belize enjoys great weather all year long) but because a special group of visitors arrives in the offshore waters as part of their annual circumnavigation of the globe.

Named whale sharks for their enormous size, not because they are actually sharks (technically, whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean), whale sharks can measure up to 41 feet (12 meters) long and weigh up to 21 metric tons (47,000 pounds). Despite their gargantuan size, whale sharks pose little danger to humans as they feed solely on microscopic plankton and fish spawn.

Whale sharks are filter feeders who inhabit the warm waters of the tropics. Beginning in early summer, whale sharks arrive in Belize near the area of Glover’s Spit at the eastern edge of the Belize Barrier Reef. Normally, whale sharks live at deep depths inaccessible to humans, but when the full moon waxes, whale sharks rise to the surface in order to feed.

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