[13] Whale sharks possess a broad, flattened head with a large mouth and two small eyes located at the front corners.

[19][20] Evidence suggests that whale sharks can recover from major injuries and may be able to regenerate small sections of their fins.

[11][33][34][29][9] A 2020 study looked at the growth of whale shark individuals over a 10-year period around the Ningaloo Reef and concluded the species exhibits sexual dimorphism with regard to size, with females growing larger than males.

Not all previous studies created separate growth curves for males and females, instead combining data from both sexes.

When on land, the total length measurement can be affected by how the tail is positioned, either angled as it would be in life or stretched as far as possible.

Some of these are as follows: In 1868, the Irish natural scientist Edward Perceval Wright obtained several small whale shark specimens in the Seychelles.

Smith learned through independent sources that it was at least 10 wa (a Thai unit of length measuring between a person's outstretched arms).

[44] In a 2015 study reviewing the size of marine megafauna, McClain and colleagues considered this female as being the most reliable and accurately measured.

[8] On 7 February 2012, a large whale shark was found floating 150 kilometres (93 mi) off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan.

[46] Tracking devices have shown that the whale shark displays dynamic patterns of habitat utilization, likely in response to availability of prey.

Whale sharks observed off the northeast Yucatan Peninsula tend to engage in inshore surface swimming between sunrise and mid-afternoon, followed by regular vertical oscillations in oceanic waters during the afternoon and overnight.

[2] Seasonal feeding aggregations occur at several coastal sites such as the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, Darwin Island in the Galápagos, Quintana Roo in Mexico, Mafia Island of Pwani Region in Tanzania, Inhambane province in Mozambique, the Philippines, around Mahe in the Seychelles,[46] the Gujarat[46] and Kerala coasts of India,[50][51] Taiwan, southern China[46] and Qatar.

[53] Aggregations in that area are among the most reliable seasonal gatherings known for whale sharks, with large numbers occurring in most years between May and September.

[9][10][11] Evidence suggests that males grow faster than females in the earlier stages of life but ultimately reach a smaller maximum size.

[59] On 7 March 2009, marine scientists in the Philippines discovered what is believed to be the smallest living specimen of the whale shark.

The young shark, measuring only 38 cm (15 in), was found with its tail tied to a stake at a beach in Pilar, Sorsogon, Philippines, and was released into the wild.

[60][61] In a report from Rappler last August 2019, whale sharks were sighted during WWF Philippines' photo identification activities in the first half of the year.

Their presence suggests that the Ticao Pass may be a pupping ground for whale sharks, further increasing the ecological significance of the area.

[70] The BBC program Planet Earth filmed a whale shark feeding on a school of small fish.

The same documentary showed footage of a whale shark timing its arrival to coincide with the mass spawning of fish shoals and feeding on the resultant clouds of eggs and sperm.

These include krill, crab larvae, jellyfish, sardines, anchovies, mackerels, small tunas, and squid.

The species is considered endangered by the IUCN due to the impacts of fisheries, by-catch losses, and vessel strikes,[82] combined with its long lifespan and late maturation.

[84] In 1998, the Philippines banned all fishing, selling, importing, and exporting of whale sharks for commercial purposes,[85] followed by India in May 2001[86] and Taiwan in May 2007.

[89] It was reported in 2014 that hundreds of whale sharks were illegally killed every year in China for their fins, skins, and oil.

[92][93] The first attempt at keeping whale sharks in captivity was in 1934 when an individual was kept for about four months in a netted-off natural bay in Izu, Japan.

[94] The whale shark kept at Dubai's Atlantis, The Palm was rescued from shallow waters in 2008 with extensive abrasions to the fins and after rehabilitation it was released in 2010, having lived 19 months in captivity.

[94] This is unusual because of the comparatively long transport time and complex logistics required to bring the sharks to the aquarium, ranging between 28 and 36 hours.

Georgia's whale sharks were all imported from Taiwan and were taken from the commercial fishing quota for the species, usually used locally for food.

By law snorkelers must maintain a distance of 4 ft (1.2 m) from the sharks and there is a fine and possible prison sentence for anyone who touches the animals.

[105] Whale sharks are also known as jinbei-zame in Japan (because the markings resemble patterns typically seen on jinbei); gurano bintang (roughly "star from the East"[106]) in Indonesia; and ca ong (literally "sir fish") in Vietnam.