GENTLE GIANT SEEN OFF CITY’S COAST

A PRIME specimen of the world’s largest shark has been spotted by rangers off the coast of Townsville.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service rangers captured video of a whale shark during a reef health impact survey off the coast of Townsville in October. The footage was released yesterday.

The he whale shark isa slowmoving filter-feeding animal and the largest known fish species.

The rangers were on a routine reef health survey run by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Estimated at 6m long long, the whale shark seen near Townsville was dwarfed by the largest of the species ever found: a 12.6m giant weighing more than 20 tonnes.

It’s believed the animals live for 70 years, feeding mostly on plankton. They pose no threat to humans.

V Very little is known about their activity in the North Queensland reef area.

The number of surviving whale sharks has halved in the past 75 years, researchers estimate.

The species is targeted by fishermen from southern China, often for shark fin soup. Whale sharks are one of only three filter- feeding sharks known to exist in the world.

“It was a beautiful experience for our rangers to spot this one cruising past as they conducted reef health impact surveys,” a Queensland National Parks spokesman said. ANDREW BACKHOUSE