Baby shark, du du du du du du~
There was once a dark time where all you heard was this song being belted out by kids and adults alike, and would probably have made a silent curse to whoever came up with this song.
But most Singaporeans would probably not have expected the main character of that cursed song to be lurking around right outside our doorsteps, in our very own waters.
Baby Whale Shark Sighting
Who knew we had such diverse marine biology living with us?
Reddit user Freakzone2212 shared that a juvenile whale shark was spotted in the waters during their dad’s fishing trip. It is unclear where the exact location was, however.
The sighting has also been confirmed by Zeehan Jaafar, a marine researcher at the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
He shared that the sighting will also be recorded and formalised in the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum’s Singapore Biodiversity Records.
This sighting’s really one for the books for it is Singapore’s first sighting of the whale shark since 1964.
Yes, even before Singapore became an independent state.
The First Shark Sighting
Off the coast of Pulau Sebarok, an island in the south of Singapore, an 8.8-meter long whale shark was spotted “ravaging” fishing stakes.
Unfortunately, amid fears that the beast may cause harm, marine policemen shot and killed the whale shark with 13 gunshots. Its carcass was taken in and kept as a specimen at the then University of Singapore.
Thankfully, we’ve hopefully moved past that point, for the recently spotted whale shark was left undisturbed.
With the recent box jellyfish sightings and the shark, I guess you can say that Singapore waters is becoming a popular destination for these sea creatures.
What If You Met With The Shark
Now, we tried searching for “what to do if you meet with a shark?” on Google and got back results on how to deal with loan sharks.
That’s how rare shark sightings are in Singapore.
However, for your peace of mind, we went to search online for guidelines and here are the general ones we found:
- Stay calm
- Try to get out of the water as soon as possible
- Don’t make sudden movements
Meet The Whale Shark
Characterised by their distinctive colour and the white spots on their body, the whale shark that was sighted appeared to be just a baby, with a length of about 3 meters.
If this huge creature in the photo is just a baby, then… imagine just how huge a full-grown whale shark would look.
According to National Geographic, the whale shark is the largest fish in the world and can grow up to a whopping 12 meters or more. That’s about the size of a bus.
They’re also non-aggressive and docile creatures, despite being carnivores – meaning it won’t eat you.
Whale sharks filter feed, which means they just open their mouths and take in small plants, creatures, and fishes that come in their way, kind of like a big vacuum cleaner.
Sadly, the whale shark is officially considered to be an endangered species.
Now we can add this to the list of rare marine sightings in Singapore, just like sighting rare Pokemon.
However, unlike Pokemon, we shouldn’t catch em’ all. Don’t be like the uncle who captured and killed a rare honeycomb stingray.
Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:
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