Open Wide: The Diver Who Nearly Got Swallowed by a Whale Shark

Just after a day after I posted how docile whale sharks are there is a news article that reads that a diver "almost" got swallowed by one.

The UK's Daily Mail posted an article, today, with the title "Open Wide: The Diver Nearly Got Swallowed by a Whale Shark".  Even though the title seems a bit far-fetched in nature, the article does feature some nice shots of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) off of Isla Mujeres, which were taken by Mauricio Handler.

In the photo that is captioned with "Jaws: This diver almost got sucked into the mouth of a massive whale shark as it fed on plankton" using perspective that might give the impression that the diver is about to be sucked up by the whale shark at first glance.  However, as one of the Daily Mail readers commented, the whale shark in this photo is actually closer to the camera than the diver, which exaggerates its size in relation to the diver.  The diver appears to be behind (in relation to the camera) the whale shark and not in any harm's way.  Also remember, that whale sharks are filter feeds and have absolutely no interest in eating a human!  In the end, they still remain very docile creatures and no harm to a human.