Evening star., 1952-11-14
Mild lotion Gulf Shark
Feeds Standing Upright

Feeds Standing Upright
Consumes Crustuceuns
In Middle of Tuna School
By Thomas R. Henry
Monster of Gulf of Mexico waters is q
shark which weighs from ten to twelve
tons. Is from Is to so feet long, and
fishes standing upright in the water.
The strange fishing behavior Of this
whale shark" largest of its ancient
family and an entirely inoffensive. de-
fenseleSs creature, is among the observa-
tionS of scientists Of the Fish and Wild
Life Administration research ship Ore
gon. 1t is engaged in surveying the life
of the Gulf. primarily in search of new
shrimp and fishing grounds.
On its last trip from its headquarters
at PaScagoula, Miss. according to natu-
ralistS aboard, several large schools Of
black-flnned tuna were encountered. In
the middle of each school was large
object which looked like barrel. Inves-
tigation showed this barrel" was the
snout Of q whale shark. It was kept
even with the surface. The creature
kept opening its enormous mouth two or
three inches below the surface.
From so to 100 gallons Of water would
flow into the mouth and be strained out
through the gills. This water would be
full Of larval crustaceans, so-called "sea
lice" or banded shrimp, about q half
inch long. The water also might contain
small fish.
Does Not Eat Tuna.
In each case the body of the shark
stood vertically. Why each shark should
select a school of tuna and put itself
almost precisely in the center of the
swarming fish is a complete mystery.
It does not eat tuna except. possibly,
very small ones. Presumably. however,
it feeds on about the same sort Of
material as the fish. 1t knows there Is
food where the tuna congregate.
The whale shark is among the most
mysterious Of the larger sea animals. It is
a solitary creature. seldom seen. Its tiny
teeth are only about one 18th Of an inch
long and it is supposedly entirely
feeder on plankton, the minute organ
isrns which abound in sea water.
It is q rare specimen in the Mediter-
ranean, around the West Indies and
around the Cape Of Good Hope.
One day the Oregon bumped into one
of the monsters. The collision gave the
ship bad jolt. Apparently 1t didn't
hurt the shark, which swan calmly away.
In the course of its Gulf operations
the Oregon has collected more than so
hitherto unknown species Of fish and
other sea organisms.
Tundra Rich in Reindeer Food.
North Americas Arctic tundra is po-
tentially a rich pasture which may
Support-aS some have estimated-aS
many as 10 million reindeer.
This is due to the lush growth Of
lichens, the earth's hardest plants.
which will grow even under a light snow
cover, DR.. George A. Llano of the Re-
search Studies Institute at Maxwell Air
Base, Ala, has reported to the third
Alaskan Science Conference.
These strange plants, if used for graz
ing, says DR.. Llano, would increase the
potential and enormous areas OF both
Arctic and sub-Arctic which are rela-
lively worthless for forestry or agricul-
ture.
"The internal economy Of lichen
differs profoundly from all other forms
of plant life. The plant is dual organ
ism composed of tightly woven web
of fungi threads and innumerable
bright-green, yellow-green or blue-green
algae cells. The fungal web structure
composes the greater part of the plant
and through it's ability to absorb and
retain the least moisture available forms
a protective shell essential to the success
of the plant in environments in which
the independent existence of either part
ner would be less successful.
Accumulate in Masses.
"Lichens are perennials of slow growth
and insignificant size, whose importance
as forage plants rests entirely on their
massive accumulation under favorable
conditions They may be active at low
Temperatures, or under thin snow COW
er. AS light lovers they attain maximum
profusion on the sunny exposure OF
mountains, under thin forest cover, or .
over the open tundra.
Reindeer are well suited to the limi-
tations of lichen ranges. They can
locate lichen beds under three to four
feet of snow. Obviously, the first rule OF
Arctic tundra range management is a
rotation of seasonal grazing areas. and
in particular of winter ranges. 1t Is
necessary to coordinate rotation OF
pastures with the lichen recovery pc
riod."