Whale shark, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia Sep 4, 2023

Whale shark, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

Say hello to the largest fish in the world, the whale shark. These gentle giants are not related to whales, despite their impressive size of an average 12 metres in length. Whale sharks are calm creatures that are usually safe for divers to swim alongside. These sharks are filter feeders and consume plankton and small fish by sieving them through their gill plates. There has been a significant decline in their populations, with an estimated 63% decrease in their numbers in the last 75 years. Threats include being hit by boats or tangled in fishing gear and their habitats are being damaged by pollution, coastal development and over-fishing. Advocates work through education and community engagement to help safeguard whale sharks and preserve our oceans.

© Jason Edwards/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

The Riviera of India
Sep 4, 2024Dusky eagle-owls, Pakistan
Sep 4, 2025Grizzly bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, United States

More Desktop Wallpapers:

76 glorious years of independence
A convocation of eagles assembles
One on land, a million in space
Oct 4, 2023World Space Week
Feb 29, 2024Leap Day
Spring is the time for billing
A city so nice they made it twice
Sep 23, 2023Autumnal equinox
A 50-year balancing act
Underwater underground
40 years of recovery
May 1, 2024Maharashtra Day
Stretching to the sky
Gateway to Latin America
Sep 16, 2023Splügen Pass, Switzerland
A true symbol of heritage and royalty
Aug 25, 2023Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Apr 13, 2025Songkran—Thai New Year
Jan 16, 2025Pinnacles National Park, California, United States
May 31, 2024Gunnerside, Yorkshire Dales National Park, England
Stairway to heaven?
Apr 19, 2024Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland
Shell-ebrating sea turtles
Little Island, Big Sea
Aug 31, 2025Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska, United States
Night outside the museum
Jan 4, 2025Bản Giốc – Detian Falls, Vietnam
Celebrating the Scottish bard
Jun 22, 2025World Rainforest Day
Sep 15, 2025Black-winged stilts, France