Don't look down! Amazing picture captures whale shark looking for its next meal
Don't look down! Amazing picture captures whale shark looking for its next meal
Freediver's brush with the eight-metre creature was captured by her husband
By Telegraph Reporters 21 February 2022 • 10:02am
The whale shark was looking for food - and Alice Edgar was in the way
The whale shark was looking for food Credit: Edgar Pacific Photography / CATERS NEWSAlice Edgar, 33, was enjoying a swim in South Ari Atoll, Maldives, with her photographer husband David, when she realised they were not alone.
Because lurking there, just below her flippers, was an eight-metre-long whale shark - and it was hungry.
David, from Sydney, Australia, said: "Whale sharks are the biggest of all fish species and are actually filter feeders, meaning they swim through the sea with their mouths open to pick up tiny plankton that drift through the ocean currents.
"The South Ari Atoll at this time of year has large plankton plumes and this attracts whale sharks to the area.
"In these shots, Alice is freediving next to an eight-metre-long whale shark as it swims against the current, sucking up all the plankton in its path."
A whale shark in the Maldives
Credit: Edgar Pacific Photography / CATERS NEWS"This whale shark was completely focused on feeding and was completely indifferent to our presence in the water.
"On one occasion, the whale shark turned directly toward me as I happened to be swimming through a particularly dense area of plankton.
"I swam backward quickly and fired off a few shots, some of which turned out to be my best of the day."
