Kenya to add one more animal species to make Big Six

A potrait showing Kenya's Big Five wildlife species. Whale Shark will soon be added to the list. [Photo: Courtesy]

Kenya could soon be a nation of the Big Six Wildlife attraction up from the original Big Five if the revelations of underwater diver are anything to go by.

According to Volker Bassen who is founder of the East African Whale Shark Trust (EAWST), Kenya is inching closer to successful inclusion of Whale Shark in the list.

Volker said that Kenya is currently the only country in the world that can boast the BIG 6.

“A whale shark can grow as large as 6 elephants, it is the biggest fish in the ocean and a gentle giant, it even lets you swim with it, completely harmless and calls Kenya it’s home” he says.

Volker said that in other places around the world, where the whale shark is known to congregate, its presence has led to a tourism boom.

He added that tens of thousands of tourists flock to countries like Australia, Philippines and Mexico hoping to get a chance to swim with these majestic sharks.

“It is a wildlife experience of a lifetime, nothing beats being in the water next to one of these leviathans, it’s like being thrown back 200 million years in time, jurassic park! These sharks existed 200 million years before the dinosaurs” says Bassen.

And the Kenyan public can have rare sighting of the Whale Shark off Diani beaches where EAWST in conjunction with Whale Shark Adventures Diani are starting their annual whale shark research expeditions starting this month of February.

Bassen said that the cost of one person is $ 120 (Shs 12,000). Expeditions starts daily until 7th of March from 08:30-11:30 pm, Diani Beach.

Bassen in an interview with The Standard said that Kenya's whale shark season started earlier than normal this year, with the first sightings being experienced in October 2018. 

Whale shark, also known as Papa Shilingi in Kiswahili, is the largest known fish in the world. They grow up to 30 feet and weigh more than 20 tonnes. They are predominantly plankton feeders.

Bassen, said the October sighting was a stranded juvenile whale shark off a secluded beach, which unfortunately died.

"Fishermen and scuba divers have been reporting whale shark encounters, with up to six sharks seen feeding together," said Bassen.

This is the 18th consecutive year Bassen and his team have been running whale shark research expedition in Diani, Kwale County.

Bassen states that despite their gigantic nature, whale sharks are harmless and one can actually swim with them.

"It is a wildlife encounter of a lifetime and Kenya is one of the handful places in the world where you can interact with them," said Bassen.

He added: "God was so pleased with the beautiful fish that he gave his angels handfuls of gold and silver coins to throw down from heaven on to its back."

Bassen said that was why whale sharks have magical markings and swim near the surface catching the sun on their backs "as a way of saying thank you to their maker".

Over-fishing

Unfortunately, in recent years, sharks have suffered from over-fishing with locals using their liver oil to seal fishing boats against rot.

Bassen, the Swedish diver-turned-conservationist, devised an initiative to combat the threat of extinction when he launched Whale Shark Adventures in 2013.

On weekends, he runs water safaris, offering the once-in-a-lifetime chance to swim alongside sharks.

Bassen said he channels the money he makes from hosting safaris back into his whale shark conservation project, giant sharks that helps to educate local fishermen on how to process cashew nut shells into oil to be used on their boats.

He uses small boats that are unlikely to disturb whale sharks and a spotter plane flies overhead to locate them. Bassen announced that during the expedition, EAWST would start doing photo ID of Diani's resident Dolphins as well.

"Swimming with these giant creatures is considered to be among the top 10 wildlife experiences that are also regarded as leviathan of the deep blue," said Bassen.