A man tried to ride a whale shark!

A shocking situation occurred in Saudi Arabia, where a man jumped from a yacht directly onto the back of a whale shark and then, holding onto its dorsal fin, tried to ride the animal. The man is Zaki Al-sabahy, who according to available information is a well-known stuntman in the region.

A video has surfaced on social media showing a whale shark calmly approaching a yacht and a man jumping from the deck into the water. The entire incident was recorded by his companions and shared online.

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Unfortunately this is not an isolated case of irresponsible behaviour, but a common practice. “Riding” whale sharks has been documented many times before, but apparently local authorities have failed to address the problem.

This reprehensible practice is extremely irresponsible and both nature lovers and scientists are trying to educate people about the dangers it poses to these gentle giants, but also to humans.

The whale shark is the world’s largest fish. Unfortunately, it is on the Red List of Threatened Species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is due to the negative impact of fishing, the loss of juveniles as a result of bycatch and even ship strikes. The fact that the species has a long life span and therefore matures late is also not insignificant.

Despite their large size, whale sharks are not dangerous, and younger animals can often be encountered during dives. Those who have the opportunity to meet a whale shark can consider themselves very lucky, and such an experience will certainly be remembered for a lifetime.