The whale shark's feeding behavior resembles that of a child enjoying a slurpee

Jul 17, 2012 14:08 GMT  ·  By

Whale sharks are some of the largest fish species on earth, as their name more than suggests.

Apparently, the biggest one on record weighed nearly 22 tones, but it is believed that even more impressive specimens might be living in the depths of our oceans.

These sharks are known to marine biologists as filter-feeders, meaning that whenever they feel like it is lunch time, they mock-ingest impressive amounts of the waters around them, and then collect the food that was also dragged into their mouth.

As is the case with most marine animal species nowadays, whale sharks are considered to be in danger of going extinct.

However, some people in Asia, Taiwan and the Philippines still hunt them for commercial purposes.

This video shows a whale shark feeding on the fish caught inside a fishing net.