These huge creatures can grow up to several metres long — the largest confirmed individual whale shark had a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft).

It has a huge mouth that opens up to 1.4 meters wide but it feeds only on krill and plankton.

But despite their size, and contrary to popular belief that sharks are ferocious creatures, the biggest of them all — the whale shark — is known as a “gentle giant”.