IN THIS ISSUE

 Did you know?

Prehistoric Whale shark teeth have been discovered from a genus known as  Palaeorhincodon dating to the lower to middle Eocene.

 The teeth of the extinct genus are small, up to 3 mm in height, with a central main cusp with a smaller cusp at the base on each side.

  Three species of pre-historic whale shark have  been identified from the genus: Palaeorhincodon daouii, P. dartevellei and P. wardi  

NOTICE BOARD

Whale Shark Sightings 
 July - Sept 2004

In-water Sightings
23 reported sightings
21 in-water encounters
11 sharks identified
9 sharks tagged
5 sharks sexed (5M)
5 sharks resighted from this season


Aerial Sightings

91 flights in total
138hrs 5mins flying time
210 sharks sighted
Maximum of 11 sharks seen on a single flight

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Can Basking Sharks Help Unravel The Habitats Of The Whale Shark?

	The basking shark is a cold water filter feeder  Photo: Alan James

Basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) are the second largest of all sharks and like the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) are plankton feeders. Basking sharks, however, occur in colder, temperate waters and for many years were thought to be rather sedentary animals that hibernated during the cold, plankton-poor winters.

Like whale sharks, basking sharks appear seasonally  for only brief periods of time, however, they are found around areas where there are substantially more resources in terms of research and monitoring facilities and consequently over the last 20 years a significant amount of information into the habits of these animals has been gathered. This research has shown that these temperate water sharks may indeed provide a number of clues as to possible behaviour patterns in their warm water relatives, the whale shark.

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	Spot2 Satellite tag as deployed in the MCSS programme.

Regular readers of Sagren and followers of wildlife tracking efforts will be familiar with the term ‘Satellite Tracking’ which is thought to be the most advanced means of following animal movements remotely over long distances. However, it may not be the Holy Grail of tracking that some think and it seems that few people really know what it involves, how it works or what information it provides. As such this is a basic guide to the science and wizardry of satellite tracking.

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Sonata painting by Diu children    Photo Wildlife Trust India

Diu, Gujarat, 22 September, 2004 : The sleepy town of Diu awoke to the spectacle of a life-sized model of the whale shark, welcoming hundreds of school children to a day of fun near the ancient fort, which culminated in the Diu Municipal Council adopting Vhali, the whale shark as the city mascot.

The city of Porbandar pioneered this gesture on 23 May when thousands of people took a public pledge to protect the whale shark and the president of the city municipal council, Mrs. Jeeviben Shiyal adopted the whale shark as the mascot for this year. Earlier, in another first, the popular religious leader Morari Bapu was appointed an ambassador for the whale shark and agreed to include it in his discourses on the Ramayana, drawing immense public response. This is the first time a religious leader has supported the cause of conservation.

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Whale shark sightings have been slow so far this season and the occurrence of the sharks has been quite different from previous years.

  During the current season, the MCSS microlight has been flying two daily aerial surveys around Mahe in search of whale sharks, subject to weather conditions. Since August the majority of the sightings have been in the far South of Mahe with very few sightings being recorded in other areas.

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Airtel Communications Company are sponsoring MCSS with a special mobile phone user group package, which includes a Nokia mobile phone and a new Hotline number: 713 500

  The package and additional hand-set will allow for better coordination of MCSS field activities......

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Please let us know! Please get as much information as possible, where when, how many, how big, what it was doing etc. then call us, e-mail us or fill out our on-line sighting form every sighting is important in building a picture of these sharks movements and behaviour around Seychelles

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By becoming a whale shark foster parent you are ensuring that research on whale sharks is continued. Your support will assist in protecting these amazing creatures and ensure that they continue roaming the world’s tropical oceans.

Adopt me !

Mazarin (s275): A 4½ m juvenile male whale shark tagged on the 25th January 2003 near L'ilôt Island. He has a distinct scaring pattern and is easily recognized.

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