They only eat plankton and tiny fish, but that doesn't mean enormous whale sharks still can't scare the living daylights out of unsuspecting divers.
One such diver recently had an encounter in the Atlantic Ocean that he won't soon forget: A whale shark came straight at him with its mouth open, crashing into him as he was shooting video.
Moments before the collision, the diver's companion can be seen spotting the whale shark and frantically pointing. But by then it's too late: The shark smacks into the diver and then whacks him with his tail on the way by for good measure.
The startled diver, who was unhurt, lets out a gargled scream underwater before later laughing with relief once the shark has moved on.
Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea, averaging 18 to 32 feet in size and weighing an average of 20 tons, according to National Geographic. Those giant jaws that came right up into the camera are filter feeders that sift through everything the whale shark swims past to help it eat. Whale sharks are docile animals, and there is no record of one ever intentionally killing a human.
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