Despite their frightening appearance and gigantic size, basking sharks actually pose no danger to us humans, as they only feed on zooplankton. In fact, they might even have something in common with us.
Just as a human being holds hands with his significant other while they have a romantic walk in the park, basking sharks also have their own: fin-to-fin contact while doing synchronized swimming. Scientists have caught a glimpse of the romantic world of basking sharks when they studied six of these aquatic giants for 123 hours.
Matthew Witt, one of the people in the fieldwork, described the moments as “utterly phenomenal.” Jessica Rudd, who led the fieldwork, described it as “really fascinating.”
Copulation may not have been recorded on camera, but Will is confident that that is what may have happened next, as these types of behaviors are often what happens before mating, as they have observed from other sharks.
The research was recently published in the journal PLOS One.
(Image Credit: University of Exeter and NatureScot)
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(Video Credit: Guardian News/ YouTube)