Discover the Ocean Giants: Top 9 Fun Facts About Basking Sharks You Never Knew

1. Killer Smile, Gentle Diet

Basking sharks may have a killer smile, but they're certainly not dental villains: These gentle giants rely on their gill rakers to filter plankton and small crustaceans as they glide through the water with mouths wide open, never using their numerous teeth for hunting or eating.
Source => dfo-mpo.gc.ca

2. Snack Game Strong

They may not have a Jaws theme song, but their snack game is strong: Basking sharks can filter up to 130,000 gallons of water per hour through their colossal mouths, capturing a delicious mix of small fish and crustaceans while they swim on by.
Source => ocean.si.edu

Did you know that whale sharks have over 300 teeth, but they're not for biting? Discover how these gentle giants use their impressive dental array for a surprising, veggie-friendly meal! 🦈🌿

=> Fun Facts about Whale-Sharks

3. Ocean's Second-Fiddle

Hold onto your fishnets, folks, because there's a big one that got away: Basking sharks may be the ocean's second-fiddle, but they're no small fry! With a staggering 29 feet of sharky goodness, these gentle giants are giving the title of "biggest fish in the sea" a run for its money.
Source => floridamuseum.ufl.edu

4. Introverted Party-Crashers

Basking sharks: the introverted party-crashers of the sea! While they'd much rather Netflix and krill alone, they occasionally form oceanic flash mobs just to feast on plankton: these free-for-all gatherings are more about chowing down than mating or socializing, making it clear that these giant fish really know how to put the "single" in single-minded!
Source => onlinelibrary.wiley.com

5. Floating Buffet Masters

While basking sharks aren't exactly working on their tans or posting sun-soaked selfies on Sharkstagram: They've mastered the art of snacking on-the-go, as they leisurely float with their massive mouths wide open, enthusiastically collecting vast quantities of plankton and tiny crustaceans using their gill rakers – nature's ultimate in-built strainers.
Source => dfo-mpo.gc.ca

6. Sustainable Ocean Roamers

Who needs Uber when you're a basking shark? These eco-friendly ocean roamers are the pioneers of sustainable cross-country adventures: clocking in at a whopping 8,000 km in their post-summer road trip through the North Atlantic, these gentle giants keep their carbon fin-print low by passively filter feeding and never breaking a sweat with any hurried swimming.
Source => nature.com

7. Acrobatic Shark Leaps

Move over, aquatic Olympians: these colossal sharks prefer to bask in the spotlight with their own version of acrobatic leaps! Surprisingly agile for their size, basking sharks can breach and jump, reaching speeds of about 20 kilometers an hour, and have been observed performing multiple breaches in under a minute–with one shark making a splash four times in just 47 seconds.
Source => psychologytoday.com

8. Pool Party Food Catchers

When Basking sharks throw a pool party, they prefer to BYOF (Bring Your Own Food). No, seriously, they just open their enormous mouths and catch their meals while cruising the ocean: These gentle giants are master filter feeders, devouring up to 336,600 gallons of water per hour (that's half an Olympic size swimming pool), sifting out delicious plankton and krill for their sustenance.
Source => cadivingnews.com

9. Swimming Vacuum Cleaners

Watch out, zooplankton, it's Chow Time with Jaws: The Basking Shark Edition! Despite the gargantuan mouth on these swimming vacuum cleaners, cleaning up their plate is more of a leisurely, Lazy Susan approach: Basking sharks swim slowly near the surface, opening their mouths to a respectable 1 meter (3.3 feet) wide and filter water through their bristle-like gill rakers, capturing tiny planktonic plants and animals. Who'd have thought marine housekeeping could be so basking fun!
Source => sciencedirect.com