If you are here in the summer, you may be lucky enough to meet some gentle giants. The Mexican Caribbean is one of the few places in the world visited by whale sharks, the world’s largest living fish.
From May to the end of August, the deep waters off the islands of Holbox and Contoy and Cabo Catoche, the northernmost tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, play host to one of the ocean’s most extraordinary gatherings of whale sharks, and with Thomas Moore Travel you have the opportunity to witness them.

Gentle Giants
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) have been swimming the oceans for 200 million years and yet we still know little about them. They are immense creatures up to 60 feet long when fully grown, with broad, flat heads, small eyes and mouths that can measure up to five feet across. However, despite their size, whale sharks are gentle giants, feeding on plankton blooms, krill, algae, crab larvae, small fish and the occasional squid. They swim near the surface with their jaws open or remain motionless, sometimes even vertically, and suck water into their mouths like a vacuum cleaner. Their teeth are tiny and appear to be virtually useless, but they filter the water through sieve-like spongy tissue in their gills which traps the minute organisms.
Recent studies reveal that whale sharks are great ocean travelers undertaking seasonal migrations through the Caribbean and the warmer waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Scientists believe that their movements may be tied to breeding and to the changing location of food sources. One whale shark was tracked 8,000 miles across the Pacific.
Due to the convergence of currents from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean and the upwelling of colder waters, the deep waters off the coast of Holbox and Cabo Catoche are rich in plankton and other marine life. The abundance of food attracts the whale sharks to the area.
Biologists from York University (United Kingdom) working in Belize have discovered similar gatherings or aggregations. The whale sharks in the Gladden Spit Marine Preserve follow schools of Cubera snappers that gather to spawn in April and May, around the full moon. They will wait for hours until thousands of fish begin to spawn and they always arrive on time for the annual event. The fish spawn turns the water milky white and is lapped up by the whale sharks and a host of other creatures attracted by the breeding frenzy. Scientists in Australia believe that coral spawning may also attract the whale sharks.

Despite the fact that whale sharks are found in the warm waters of the tropics and are generally surface feeders, the Belize scientists found that they will dive to depths of more than 3,300 feet in search of food and can tolerate temperatures of less than 4.5 C and pressures of more than 1,500 pounds per square inch.
Whale sharks are thought to live for over 100 years. Not much is known about their breeding cycle but they reach sexual maturity when they are 30 years old or 30 feet long. The females give birth to live young and can have litters of up to 300 pups which measure 50 centimeters when born.
Whale sharks are also being studied in Baja California, the Bay Islands in Honduras, South Africa, Fiji and Australia.

Speckles and Stripes
Whale sharks have grey or dark blue mottled skins and white bellies. The markings are thought to help them recognize fellow whale sharks and also to protect their skins from the sun’s rays during the long hours they spend on or near the surface.
In the Mexican Caribbean, the dappled skin of the whale shark has earned it the local name of pez domino and biologists studying the fish have used the markings to compile a catalog of the creatures. Divers take a photo of a patch of skin behind the whale shark’s gills and above its left pectoral fin and as the pattern of dots and stripes does not change or fade with age, it can be used to identify individual fish almost like a fingerprint. The location of the fish is recorded with a GPS reading and the findings are used to monitor their movements and draw up maps. Some whale sharks are now being marked with a satellite sensor to study migration patterns.
Using a combination of photos, GPS and Cessna flights over the area, the Holbox team of biologists has been able to identify 83 percent of the whale sharks in local waters. They believe that there may be as many as 200, the largest concentration in the world, and have seen groups of up to 60 at one time. They have also recorded the presence of male and female sharks and of smaller and therefore younger creatures. In other whale shark areas, single sex gatherings have been observed.

Watching the whale sharks
A whale shark sighting is an unforgettable experience and small group trips are available from Holbox, Isla Mujeres and Cancún to the area where they gather. It is becoming so popular that the Mexican National Parks Agency or CONANP (Comisión Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas) has implemented a series of regulations to make sure that these rare creatures are not disturbed and driven away from their feeding grounds.
Local fishermen are trained as eco guides and take visitors out on boats in search of the whale sharks. If they spot one, visitors can carefully venture into the water to swim or snorkel with them or stay on board and take photos.
Boats must approach the whale sharks slowly and keep a minimum distance of 30 feet away from them; only one boat is permitted per whale shark for 30 minutes and the number of boats allowed into the area at one time is controlled. Whale sharks that are clearly avoiding human contact must be left alone.
Likewise, swimmers should give the fish a berth of at least ten feet and must not attempt to touch them. Only two people are allowed in the water with a guide at any one time and they must all be wearing life jackets.
As with any wild creature, there is no guarantee that a whale shark will be seen, however, visitors are rarely disappointed. Dolphins, pelicans and frigate birds often accompany the boats; there are sea turtles and flying fish in the area and the huge manta rays that come to the surface or leap out of the water are an unforgettable sight.
Thomas Moore Travel offers a whale shark trip from May to September.
For more information and reservations, contact tourdesk@royalresorts.com or call in at the travel desk on your next vacation.

Hola Holbox
Of course, you may also decide to combine your whale shark watching with a visit to the island of Holbox itself. With its sandy streets, wooden houses and hand-painted whale shark signs, this rustic fishing village has its own brand of Caribbean charm. Fresh lobster, shrimp and fish are on the menu and the prices are unbelievably low. Life has a slower pace and a stroll along the shell-strewn white beach to watch the fishermen unloading their catch, with a trail of pelicans and gulls in hot pursuit is not to be missed.
The island is part of the Yum Balam Biosphere Reserve, an area of mangroves, marshes and tropical forest rich in wildlife. Fishermen from Holbox and Chiquila offer boat trips to local landmarks like Cenote Yalahau and Isla de los Pajaros, crocodile spotting, bird safaris, fishing and whale shark watching in the summer. During a visit to Holbox, visitors will see a variety of birds such as herons and egrets, ibis, flamingos, kingfishers and osprey.
Holbox is a three-hour drive from Cancún (via Kantunilkin) and a 30-minute ferry ride from Chiquilá on the Gulf coast. Take time to call in at the villages en route: San Angel and Solferino, members of the Puerta Verde community ecotourism network. In San Angel you can visit traditional medicine and embroidery workshops, go mountain biking in the jungle, kayaking and bird watching in a nearby lagoon. Solferino has a butterfly pavilion run by a group of local women, an orchid garden in the shade of a towering ceiba tree, a jungle camp where you can also go zip lining and kayaking through a flooded forest and lagoon in the savanna. For more information on this sustainable development initiative visit www.puertaverde.com.mx

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