Don’t panic! No, seriously, don’t panic...
THE sight of a pair of dorsal fins cutting through the water towards your boat would be enough to send most people into a panic.
But this kayaker had no reason to worry as the fins belonged to a docile basking shark, which much prefer plankton to people.
Stuart Davies photographed his friend’s close encounter in the seas near Ullapool in Ross-shire.
He said: ‘We spotted this inquisitive basking shark in the Summer Isles.
‘We kept still while it circled our kayaks for a couple of minutes before heading off into the distance.’
Basking sharks can grow up to 36ft and weigh up to seven tons but they feed entirely on plankton, tiny organisms that float in the water.
Large numbers of the animals, which are the largest fish in our seas, gather off the West Coast in the summer.
Researchers from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the University of Exeter tagged three basking sharks off Mull this year in a bid to understand more about them.
SNH policy officer Dr Suzanne Henderson said: ‘There’s been limited research to show exactly what they’re doing here.
‘Do they come solely to feed on plankton or are they using our coast as a mating ground?
‘We’ve been unsure whether the surface behaviours we see – such as parallel swimming, following nose to tail, or swimming in tight circles – are courtship activities.’