Gentle giants have come to our waters

“Whale sharks are indicators that an area is abundant of food and properly protected by the community.” — Marine biologist Mario Marababol

CEBU, Philippines - Known as the world’s largest fish, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) appears in Donsol waters (Sorsogon) in considerable numbers between December and May of each year.

However, we from Central Philippines, don’t have to travel now that far, because these “gentle giants” have already come to our waters, taking advantage of dense marine food concentration here. Thanks to our growing concern for conservation!

Whale sharks or butandings can grow to lengths of up to 18 meters, weigh up to 40 tons and live up to 100 years. In Donsol waters, typical sightings of whale sharks are between 4-12m in length. Distinctive characteristics include a broad, flat head; three prominent ridges on the upper flank (near the pectoral fin); and a checkerboard pattern of white spots and stripes on its blue-gray-brown skin. They are highly migratory. Their movement may be guided by food availability (planktons), water temperature and quality, environmental factors such as weather, currents and winds.

The butandings (otherwise called balilan, kulwano, tawiki and toki) spotted in Oslob recently is an “indicator that the area is abundant of food and that it is properly protected by the community,” according to marine biologist Mario Marababol. 

Its diet being varied and its food only flourishing in healthy conditions, whale sharks act as indicators of seas’ general health. That’s why the reported presence of butandings in Cebu waters makes your Lola Elyang’s heart leap for profound joy. I heart docile, charismatic giants!

However, Sir Mario said that based on personal communication with some divers who have seen the whale sharks, there is a need for the community to understand fully the real concept of ecotourism.

This means that there should be “minimal to low impact on the creature (no touching and playing with the butandings)” since these irresponsible acts can “cause stress to the organism and might bring bacterial infection.”

Sir Mario added that another important point for divers or swimmers to consider is the observance of proper distance from the creatures for safety reasons. “Although the butanding is a harmless creature, its caudal (tail) fin can inflict pain to swimmers (unintentional blows).”

“My personal opinion on feeding the butanding is not good since we are training the creature to be lazy and dependent on us, thus we are changing its biological behavior,” he further said.

“Fishermen and swimmers, based on photos sent to me, were captured holding and stepping on the creature which is not good,” he added.

To place things in proper perspective, Sir Mario already informed Dr. Mary Rose Vincoy on this. She is the Provincial Veterinarian Office head, being part of the Cebu Marine Animal Rescue Network or CMARNET whose primary objective is to protect valuable marine resources such us whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and whale sharks in the waters of Cebu province.

It was further learned from Sir Mario that Dr. Vincoy already directed her staff to coordinate with the municipal veterinarian of Oslob to make actions about the said reports.

TRIVIA: Whale sharks are filter feeders, typically feeding on plankton, krill, small fish, squid, invertebrate larvae, and macro-algae. The huge or capacious mouth (around five feet across) is lined with thousands of tiny teeth (300-350 rows), which are neither used for chewing nor biting. Large volumes of water are sucked into the mouth where the food is retained in the gill rakers, and the water is released through the gill slits.

Source: Butanding Interaction Tour Guide (Donsol) feeler