Basking Shark

SPEAKER_1 (0:11)

Welcome to Freaky Fauna Friday, where every Friday we take a little time and explore some of the freaks of nature from around the planet we cherish so deeply. So please, jump aboard, and let's explore the wilds together.

SPEAKER_2 (0:31)

Welcome back to Freaky Fauna Friday. I am the great and peaceful Mr. E.

Jay (0:37)

And I'm Jay.

SPEAKER_2 (0:39)

Today we're going to be talking about one of my favorite animals.

Jay (0:42)

What is that?

SPEAKER_2 (0:42)

You got a guess?

Jay (0:44)

Well, we already did the bowfin, so that one's out.

SPEAKER_2 (0:46)

We've been doing Freaky Fauna for a while. So, I love all these animals.

Jay (0:52)

One of your favorite animals? Maybe some type of salamander?

SPEAKER_2 (0:56)

Nope.

Jay (0:56)

Is it some sort of amphibian?

SPEAKER_1 (0:58)

Nope.

Jay (0:59)

Is it a fish?

SPEAKER_2 (1:00)

Yep.

Jay (1:01)

Oh, all right. Really narrowed it down.

SPEAKER_2 (1:03)

Yeah. The biggest, most diverse group of vertebrates.

Jay (1:09)

Is it an extinct fish?

SPEAKER_2 (1:10)

Nope.

Jay (1:11)

Okay. Is it a, uh, uh, uh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_2 (1:17)

A basking shark.

Jay (1:18)

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_2 (1:20)

Because that plays into the rest of this week's episodes.

Jay (1:22)

Okay.

SPEAKER_2 (1:23)

Well, if everybody didn't know, and we've said it a hundred times, but for new listeners, we record the week in reverse.

Jay (1:29)

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_2 (1:31)

The basking shark is known for its giant mouth and extremely oversized gills. It has been called the elephant shark due to the appearance of their snouts as being a large...

Jay (1:46)

Trunk? I don't know. Proboscis. Proboscis. They have a proboscis?

SPEAKER_2 (1:49)

Yeah. It's not like extreme, but it's almost like an elephant seals.

Jay (1:53)

I guess I can see that.

SPEAKER_2 (1:54)

Especially their mouth closed, you can see it more.

Jay (1:56)

Okay.

SPEAKER_2 (1:57)

They look like they have a big overhanging nose.

Jay (1:59)

Almost like a goblin shark, but not as pointy?

SPEAKER_2 (2:02)

It's much more like soft.

Jay (2:04)

Yeah.

SPEAKER_2 (2:05)

Like, yeah, goblin sharks is more like a paddlefish's, where it's a hard extension of bone.

Jay (2:09)

Yeah.

SPEAKER_2 (2:10)

This is more of just a big fleshy nose. When their mouths close, it kind of hangs down. They look like an old man.

Jay (2:16)

Like, you know, like the blob fish kind of in the front.

SPEAKER_2 (2:19)

Yeah. A broken blob fish. Cetorhythias maximus is their scientific name.

Jay (2:26)

It's a cool name.

SPEAKER_2 (2:27)

In Greek, do you want to guess what that translates to?

Jay (2:29)

Big sunbathing shark.

SPEAKER_2 (2:33)

Great nosed sea monster.

Jay (2:35)

Oh, there you go.

SPEAKER_2 (2:37)

Even though, or even though they are the second largest fish on earth, who's the first, Jay?

Jay (2:42)

Oh, the whale shark.

SPEAKER_2 (2:43)

Yep. Basking sharks are completely harmless to humans.

Kind of.

Jay (2:49)

Kind of.

SPEAKER_2 (2:50)

They will not go out of their way to hurt anybody. Right. They are gentle giants.

Jay (2:54)

Because they're big like filter feeders, right? Yeah. OK.

SPEAKER_2 (2:56)

They are true gentle giants and they feed primarily on plankton. So, like the dangers with basking sharks, which we'll talk about some other freaky fauna facts, but the dangers with them is getting knocked out by them.

Jay (3:11)

Just being near them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_2 (3:12)

Because they're so large.

Same with whales and whale sharks is that whale sharks have accidentally killed a couple people. It's because people weren't paying attention. They get hit in the back of the head with their tail. And so they get knocked out underwater.

Jay (3:25)

Yeah. That's not a good combo.

SPEAKER_2 (3:27)

But whale sharks never cause any harm. So basking sharks don't have any harm. And basking sharks jump.

Jay (3:33)

They jump?

SPEAKER_2 (3:34)

Yeah.

Jay (3:34)

I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_2 (3:35)

So nobody knows why.

We'll get to that in a little bit. But that can be the other big danger. Is if you accidentally get in the way.

Jay (3:41)

Yeah. You're under it?

SPEAKER_2 (3:43)

Like, no, you're on a little boat above it.

Jay (3:45)

Oh. And it shamoos over you? Or through you. Or is that free willy? That's free willy.

SPEAKER_2 (3:50)

It's through you.

Jay (3:51)

Through you. That'd be bad.

SPEAKER_2 (3:53)

Because there's one kayak video where that happened.

Jay (3:56)

Oh, OK.

SPEAKER_2 (3:56)

Because people in certain areas, you can go and kayak with these guys.

So, coastal and oceanic waters around the world can host basking sharks. And it's heavily dependent on the season and planktonic blooms. They can be found in any ocean worldwide.