The video was captured in May 2024.
The teams research waspublishedthis month inFrontiers in Marine Science.
The female responded by rapidly pivoting with pectoral fins pointing downwards to face the male.
A male whale shark following close behind a female.Photo: Frontiers in Marine Science (2024)
But the recent pair wasnt made in heaven.
The female turned away from the male and rapidly descended to depth.
The team concluded that the female they observed may not have been sexually mature based on its size.
Whale sharks are anendangered species.
According to AMNH, the species population may have declined by 50% in the last 75 years.
Love is in the airer, waterfor whale sharks, and scientists managed to capture it on camera.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
And in a new study Friday, researchers have found that some of these bites are wholly defensive.
