BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

WordsIslaHodgson

finsupandheadsdown.Theireyesare wide

witha mixtureofexcitementandnerves,

whichis quiteunderstandable.Thefin that

is currentlyadvancingtowardsusstands

almost1mtallandbelongstothesecond

biggestspeciesofsharkintheworld– the

baskingshark.

Thissituationwasnoaccident.Wewere

theretoencountertheseanimalsintheir

naturalenvironment.Butdespitetheir

enormoussize– theyaverage8–10min

length– thebaskingsharkposesnothreat

tohumans.Theyarefilterfeeders,perfectly

adaptedtoa dietconsistingexclusivelyof

tinyzooplankton.Goodnewsforus,but a bit

bizarrewhenyouconsiderthatanindividual

sharkcanweighuptofivetonnes,yet

subsistsonorganismsmillimetresinsize –

that’slikeusexistingsolelyonpoppyseeds.

I waitforjusttherightmoment,toensure

thesharkwon’tdivertat thelastsecond

S

omewhereinthewilderness

oftheAtlanticOcean,fourof

usbobaroundlikecorks,kept

afloatbybuoyantwetsuits.The

seasurroundsus,glittering

undertheJunesun.Thereis no

landformiles– infact,facing

west,nothingliesbetweenusandtheUSA.

Beneathourfinsstretchesa vastexpanseof

turquoise,eerilyquietandseeminglyempty,

mademoredauntingbytheknowledgethat

it is anythingbut.Ourboatis justbehindus

• farenoughtolimitdisturbance,butclose
  enoughtoscoopusupina heartbeat– and
  yetthereis a senseofvulnerability.Weare,
  quiteliterally,outofourdepth.Thisworld
  belongstocrypticgiants,whohaveroamed
  thisterritorylongbeforeweevenexisted.
  Oneofwhichis headingstraighttowardsus.
  I motionformygrouptostaystill.Just
  likewepractised,theylayflatonthesurface,

The second largest sh in the world

frequents UK waters in warmer months

but we know relatively little about it.

Scientic studies are now delving deeper

into the mysteries of the basking shark.

Alan James/naturepl.com