Claim: Cracking the mysteries of the elusive, majestic whale shark.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Donsol
text: 26, 1997, a group of scuba divers led by Romir Aglugub – a PADI diving instructor, discovered its presence, and interacted and came in contact with the whale sharks. Even the members of the diving group of Romir was having second thought if the fish is docile, until the instructor led the way into the water and came in contact with the whale shark. Copy of video footage taken by the group was passed on to the media and the WWF-Philippines. By March 1998, Donsol became world-class tourist destination and now known as the “Whale Shark Capital of the World”.

title: Whale shark
text: Pacific Ocean, rammed it, and the shark became stuck on the prow of the ship, supposedly with on one side and on the other. No reliable documentation exists for these claims and they remain "fish stories". The whale shark inhabits all tropical and warm-temperate seas. The fish is primarily pelagic, living in the open sea but not in the greater depths of the ocean, although it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as . Seasonal feeding aggregations occur at several coastal sites such as the southern and eastern parts of South Africa; Saint Helena Island in

title: Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus
text: stealing the submarine. She brings the shark tooth to her old professor, former U.S. Navy pilot Lamar Sanders (Sean Lawlor), who believes it belonged to a "Megalodon", an enormous species of shark believed to have become extinct 1.5 million years ago. The duo is visited by Dr. Seiji Shimada (Vic Chao), a Japanese scientist trying to determine what attacked the drilling platform. The three review a videotape recorded during MacNeil’s submarine voyage, finding images of both the megalodon and a gigantic octopus. MacNeil reflects on the polar ice caps melting due to man-made global warming, and wonders if the creatures

title: Ryan Johnson (marine scientist)
text: the Great White Shark hunting Cape fur seal at night time, a previously unknown behavior. Between 2001 and 2005 Johnson conducted research on the controversial practice of chumming great white shark for tourism, often called cage diving, where he discovered evidence of conditioning, however he did not link this to increased numbers of attacks on human beings. In January 2008 he led a pilot study to Ponto Do Ora (Mozambique) on the Zambezi shark, also known as the Bull shark. Between 1998 and present Johnson has featured as a marine scientist in numerous documentaries including Naked Science (National Geographic), Earth

title: Jaws (film)
text: it is the same predator, confirming this after no human remains are found inside it. Hooper and Brody find a half-sunken vessel while searching the night waters in Hooper's boat. Underwater, Hooper retrieves a sizable great white shark's tooth embedded in the submerged hull. He drops it in fright after encountering a partial corpse. Vaughn discounts Brody and Hooper's claims that a huge great white shark is responsible for the deaths, and refuses to close the beaches, allowing only added safety precautions. On the Fourth of July weekend, tourists pack the beaches. Following a juvenile prank in which the presence

title: Whale shark
text: Whale shark The whale shark ("Rhincodon typus") is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of and a weight of about . The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member of the genus Rhincodon and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. Before 1984 it was classified as "Rhiniodon" into Rhinodontidae. The whale shark is found in open

title: Whale shark
text: whale sharks is estimated at and . Several specimens over in length have been reported. The largest verified specimen was caught on 11 November 1949, near Baba Island, in Karachi, Pakistan. It was long, weighed about , and had a girth of . Stories exist of vastly larger specimens – quoted lengths of and are common in the popular literature, but no scientific records support their existence. In 1868, the Irish natural scientist Edward Perceval Wright obtained several small whale shark specimens in the Seychelles, but claimed to have observed specimens in excess of , and tells of shark specimens

title: Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus
text: entire structure. After returning to Point Dume, California, MacNeil investigates the corpse of a beached whale covered with many bloody wounds. Her employer Dick Richie (Mark Hengst) believes them to be from a tanker propeller, but MacNeil insists they appear to be from a creature. Later, she extracts what appears to be a shark’s tooth from one of the wounds. Elsewhere, the huge shark leaps tens of thousands of feet into the air from the ocean and attacks a commercial aircraft, forcing it to crash into the water. A review board convenes and fires MacNeil from the oceanographic institute for

title: Jaws 2
text: shark using a gas tank and flare gun, causing the boat to explode, which kills the driver and burns the shark's face. A killer whale carcass with large bites is found beached. Police Chief Martin Brody believes a shark is responsible for these events. Brody explains his concerns to Mayor Larry Vaughn, who doubts the town has another shark problem. Brody then finds debris from the destroyed speedboat and the boat driver's burnt remains. Brody calls Matt Hooper for assistance, but he is unavailable. The following day, Brody is watching from a shark tower and causes a scene after mistaking

title: Livyatan
text: and the teeth of these two sharks were found near whale and seal remains. Eagle rays, sawfish, and angelsharks were other cartilaginous fish found. Most of the bony fish findings belonged to tunas and croakers. "Livyatan" and megalodon were likely the apex predators of this area during this time. The Beaumaris sperm whale was found in the Beaumaris Bay Black Rock Sandstone Formation in Australia near the city of Melbourne, dating to 5 mya in the Pliocene. Beaumaris Bay is one of the most productive marine fossil sites in Australia for marine megafauna. Shark teeth belonging to twenty different species

title: Whale shark
text: Djibouti, the Ad Dimaniyat Islands in the Gulf of Oman and Al Hallaniyat islands in the Arabian Sea; and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, Jordan. Although typically seen offshore, it has been found closer to land, entering lagoons or coral atolls, and near the mouths of estuaries and rivers. Its range is generally restricted to about 30° latitude. It is capable of diving to depths of at least , and is migratory. On 7 February 2012, a large whale shark was found floating off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan. The length of the specimen was said to be between

title: Whale shark
text: Pilar, Sorsogon, Philippines, and was released into the wild. Based on this discovery, some scientists no longer believe this area is just a feeding ground; this site may be a birthing ground, as well. Both young whale sharks and pregnant females have been seen in the waters of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where numerous whale sharks can be spotted during the summer. The whale shark is a filter feeder – one of only three known filter-feeding shark species (along with the basking shark and the megamouth shark). It feeds on plankton including copepods, krill, fish eggs, Christmas

title: Cosmopolitodus hastalis
text: Cosmopolitodus hastalis Cosmopolitodus hastalis, the broad-tooth mako (other common names include the extinct giant mako and broad-tooth white shark), is an extinct mackerel shark that lived from the Miocene epoch to the Pliocene epoch. Its teeth can reach lengths up to 3.5 in (7.5 cm) and are found worldwide. It is believed to be an ancestor to the great white shark, a fact supported by the transitional species "Carcharodon hubbelli", and most likely would have been one of the major predators in its ecosystem; preying upon small whales and other mammals. "Cosmopolitodus" is derived from the Ancient Greek κοσμοπολίτης ""kosmopolítēs""

title: Whale shark
text: surpassing . In a 1925 publication, Hugh M. Smith described a huge animal caught in a bamboo fish trap in Thailand in 1919. The shark was too heavy to pull ashore, but Smith estimated the shark was at least long, and weighed around 37 t. These measurements have been exaggerated to and a more precise in recent years. A shark caught in 1994 off Tainan County, southern Taiwan, reportedly weighed . There have even been unverified claims of whale sharks of up to and . In 1934, a ship named the "Maurguani" came across a whale shark in the southern

title: Whale shark
text: sometimes allow swimmers to catch a ride, although this practice is discouraged by shark scientists and conservationists because of the disturbance to the sharks. Younger whale sharks are gentle and can play with divers. Underwater photographers such as Fiona Ayerst have photographed them swimming close to humans without any danger. The shark is seen by divers in many places, including the Bay Islands in Honduras, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Maldives close to Maamigili (South Ari Atoll), the Red Sea, Western Australia (Ningaloo Reef, Christmas Island), Taiwan, Panama (Coiba Island), Belize, Tofo Beach in Mozambique, Sodwana Bay (Greater St. Lucia

title: Whale shark
text: waters of the tropical oceans and is rarely found in the water below . Modeling suggests a lifespan of about 70 years, but measurements have proven difficult. Whale sharks have very large mouths and are filter feeders, which is a feeding mode that occurs in only two other sharks, the megamouth shark and the basking shark. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes, and pose no threat to humans. The species was distinguished in April 1828 after the harpooning of a specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. Andrew Smith, a military doctor associated with British troops stationed in

title: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
text: Zissou are infatuated with Jane, and a rivalry develops between them. Klaus becomes envious of the attention Zissou pays to Ned. On their mission to find the jaguar shark, the "Belafonte" steals tracking equipment from a remote station owned by Alistair Hennessey, a more successful oceanographer and Zissou's nemesis. They then sail into unprotected waters and are attacked by Filipino pirates, who steal Ned's money and kidnap Bill Ubell, a "bond company stooge" assigned to the project. They are then rescued by Hennessey and towed to Port-au-Patois. Sakowitz, along with all but one of the interns, jump ship once they

title: Whale shark
text: the South Atlantic Ocean; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, Gladden Spit in Belize; Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia; Kerala,Lakshadweep, Gulf of Kutch and Saurashtra coast of Gujarat in India; Útila in Honduras; Southern Leyte; Donsol, Pasacao and Batangas in the Philippines; off Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox in Yucatan and Bahía de los Ángeles in Baja California, México; Maamigili island, Maldives; Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia; Cenderawasih Bay National Park in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia; Flores Island, Indonesia; Nosy Be in Madagascar; off Tofo Beach near Inhambane in Mozambique; the Tanzanian islands of Mafia, Pemba, Zanzibar; Gulf of Tadjoura in

title: Great white shark
text: chunks that drifted away. Unusually for the area, large numbers of sharks over five metres long were observed, suggesting that the largest sharks change their behaviour to search for whales as they lose the maneuverability required to hunt seals. The investigating team concluded that the importance of whale carcasses, particularly for the largest white sharks, has been underestimated. In another documented incident, white sharks were observed scavenging on a whale carcass alongside tiger sharks. Stomach contents of great whites also indicates that whale sharks both juvenile and adult may also be included on the animal's menu, though whether this is

title: The Meg
text: Suyin comes down with Taylor, they see a whale being eaten alive by the massive shark. The crew then realize that it has escaped from the depths of the trench by swimming through a hole in the thermocline created by the thermal vent explosion, briefly raising the temperature enough for it to safely pass. The group decides to track and poison the Megalodon, which they succeed in doing. While injecting the Megalodon with etorphine, Suyin's oxygen mask gets compromised, but Taylor revives her with CPR. Despite initial success, Taylor comments that the teeth don't match up with the previous attack.