Whale sharks are serial snackers, dorsal fin cameras reveal

Whale shark feeding habits on Ningaloo Reef revealed by AIMS, Murdoch University study Wed 29 Jul 2026 at 9:01am In short: Whale sharks are serial snackers, footage taken from their perspective shows. The videos were taken on Ningaloo Reef as part of a study that has revealed previously unknown feeding behaviours. What's next? Scientists say more research is needed to understand how whale sharks feed at night. Footage taken from the perspective of a whale shark has revealed the ocean's biggest fish to be a serial snacker. Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and Murdoch University researchers attached cameras to the dorsal fins of five whale sharks on Ningaloo Reef. Lead author and AIMS PhD candidate Christine Barry said this was the first study to use video from the whale sharks' perspective and included reviews of 100 other journal articles. The study identified 36 behaviours, including six previously unrecorded feeding habits, which was a wider array than those displayed by baleen whales and basking sharks, Ms Barry said. "Other filter-feeding species all reside in cool waters and in those cooler temperature waters, the krill is much larger and it is much more abundant," she said. "In tropical regions, there is much less krill and it is more sparse, or patchy. "We think the way the whale sharks have evolved to have all these different types of feeding behaviours really helps them capitalise on the prey that is available and exist in this tropical niche." The footage showed that slow-feeding behaviours were the most common and were present at depths as low as 100 metres. These included the whale sharks slowly sinking or diving towards the sea floor with their mouths open to catch as much prey as possible. "They change their feeding style depending on how much feed is in the water," Ms Barry said. "It seems like the whale sharks are always responding to the environment and the krill that they are coming across rather than feeding at a uniform time. "They continually snack and when there is a bigger prey they come across, they have a full meal." Ningaloo calling Coral Bay Ecotours photographer Laura Gourgas once witnessed two whale sharks feeding on a giant bait ball. "I have been working for four years and we always see them feeding passively, but that day was craziest day I had at work," she said. "There was two whale sharks feeding around this bait ball. "Sometimes they were just swimming around it, but at one point they swam through it and fed." Ms Barry said the Ningaloo Reef was a more much important foraging site than was originally thought. "They aggregate in Ningaloo seasonally, but they also migrate lots of other countries. But they are very well protected and managed when they are at Ningaloo, so it is really important for them," she said. Scientists now believe more efforts will be required to understand whale shark's behaviour at night. Scientists say more research is needed to understand how whale sharks feed at night.