Day 2 for the team started with breakfast and then pick-up by the whaleshark operator we were whalesharking with. We were picked up by bus and tranpsorted to Tantabiddi, where the whaleshark operators anchor and each day travel to the outside of Ningaloo Reef where the whalesharks are found.
Unfortunately the weather was overcast, windy and a little cool, however all that was forgotten when we all had the first of the swim day with one of these magnificent whalesharks - these charismatic megafauna! As the day unfolded, the weather didn't improve and there were a few cold and sometimes seasick people on the boat, but we ended up swimming with 7 different whalesharks, which ranged in size from about 3 metres to 7 metres. One particular creature was extremely fast and tired out a few of the people trying to keep up. However other sharks compensated by moving effortlessly through the water at a very civilised speed for all the who were vying for glimpses and full views of theses spotted sharks which are the largest fishes in the world.
For the Earthwatch Woodside Teachlive team, this was a great opportunity to practice using the underwater digital cameras to try to capture the spot pattern behind the gill slits and above the pectoral fin for use with the Photo_Id database. Whatever we did, it worked as a few exciting IDs were made in the lab on Day 3.
Susie
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