Scuba4families was ecstatic to dive with a Juvenile female whale shark at dive site Ari Beach Beyru, on the South Ari atoll in the Maldives. It was the last 5 minutes on our 3min/5m safety stop when she glided literally right past us. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean!.They can process more than 6000L /1585 gallons of water per hour through their gills. As filter feeders whale sharks have tiny teeth, to pass small fish, shrimps and plankton through. Cruising along near the surface of the water with their large mouths agape as they look for plankton. Each whale shark can be identified by their spots on both their underbelly and back. We noticed this whale shark had two triangular shape parts missing on its tail - perhaps from a shark so we named her 'Shark Bite'.
The perfect day of scuba diving starting with the magnificent Kadu Rah Thila which is a top 5 dive in anyones log book. Circled by 1000s of Blue Striped Snapper, Trevalleys, Giant moray eels, anemone fish, long fin banner fish, black triggerfish and incredible sea fans on overhangs. It's how I picture a healthy reef - from apex predators (black tips) on the fringe, jacks, snappers, to the smaller banner fish, surgeon fish, damsels in the centre. Don't forget to look out for the curtain of sulphur bubbles before you ascend.
The second dive site where we saw the Whale Shark was Ari Beach Beyru which in its own right is an amazing dive site. On that one dive we saw two hawksbill turtles, feeding on the sloping reef wall on sea sponges. With blue triggerfish and eels there's plenty to see.
Thanks to all the leaders at Diveoceanus and a shout out to #azym_ali