[neilep (OP)]

Dearest Fishy-Mammalian chums,

As a sheepy I of course luff sharks and whales.....out of all the sharky whaley things that swim in the sea...sharks and whales are my all time fave.

But, *le sigh*..I iz a confused sheepy !

ewe see...ewe have a shark yes ?

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A Shark Being Used As A TV Aerial Yesterday


Ewe have a whale yes ?

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Whales Being All Whaley



A shark is a fish and a whale is a mammal...


..so...what is a whale shark ?


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A Whale Shark Earlier Today


Is it some kind of weird crazy interspecies fishy mammalian type thing ?.....if not...then why is it called a Whale Shark ?


I'm going to tap my fingers on the desk in an irritating way until I know the answer !

so..whajafink ?



hugs et les shmisheys



mwah mwah mwah mwah !


Neil
It's A Whale Of A Tale
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[Nizzle]

A whale shark is the biggest fish in the world.
It's not a mammal

It's called a whale shark, because it's a shark with the size of a whale, and because it's a relative of shark sharks

[Don_1]

I'll go along with Nizzle on that.


Oo! Oo! Please sir....... Could it also be because it eats much the same type of food as whales???

[neilep (OP)]

A whale shark is the biggest fish in the world.
It's not a mammal

It's called a whale shark, because it's a shark with the size of a whale, and because it's a relative of shark sharks

Thank Ewe Nizzle for the great answer.

does this mean that there's a Shark Whale out there too ?

[Tigerkix]

well there are no species of whale called the shark whale
but some species of whales are carnivorous eg. killer whales and belugas. mostly the mid sized whales.
The larger whales don't have the speed needed to catch fish so they filter feed. so they just lazily glide through the water with their mouths open and "inhale" krill and plankton. <- this is what the whale shark does

[LeeE]

All whales are meat eaters.  The toothed whales, from dolphins to sperm whales, actively hunt their prey but even the zooplankton that the baleen whales eat are animals, albeit very small ones.  Some of the baleen whales will also eat small fish: there is a good sequence in the Blue Planet series that shows a Sei whale gulping down a sizable 'bait-ball' in one enormous mouthful.

[Nizzle]

sperm whales

Where's Variola? []

[Variola]

sperm whales

Where's Variola? []

You rang? []

[JimBob]

Sperm Whales feed dominantly on squid but also eat fish. BIG squid.

[Geezer]

I like basking sharks. They can eat a Mini in one gulp, at least the look like they could if they wanted to, but I think they are on the low-Mini diet.

[neilep (OP)]

well there are no species of whale called the shark whale
but some species of whales are carnivorous eg. killer whales and belugas. mostly the mid sized whales.
The larger whales don't have the speed needed to catch fish so they filter feed. so they just lazily glide through the water with their mouths open and "inhale" krill and plankton. <- this is what the whale shark does

Thanks Tigerkix I assumed that if the largest fish could be called the Whale Shark then the smallest whale could be called the Shark-Whale  []

[neilep (OP)]

All whales are meat eaters.  The toothed whales, from dolphins to sperm whales, actively hunt their prey but even the zooplankton that the baleen whales eat are animals, albeit very small ones.  Some of the baleen whales will also eat small fish: there is a good sequence in the Blue Planet series that shows a Sei whale gulping down a sizable 'bait-ball' in one enormous mouthful.

Yes..yes..Thank ewe LeeE. I have seen similar sequences in Natures Great Events showing whales enjoying ' bait ball' cuisine !..and here it is...WOW ! 

[neilep (OP)]

Sperm Whales feed dominantly on squid but also eat fish. BIG squid.

That would make for some hula hooped sized fried calamari !!

[neilep (OP)]

I like basking sharks. They can eat a Mini in one gulp, at least the look like they could if they wanted to, but I think they are on the low-Mini diet.

I like eating Minis too:


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*le chomp*

[Don_1]

I like basking sharks. They can eat a Mini in one gulp, at least the look like they could if they wanted to, but I think they are on the low-Mini diet.

I like eating Minis too:


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*le chomp*

WOW!!! I could get my teeth into that, now where did I 'em?

[Nizzle]

I was gonna post "Leave my girlfriend alone!", but then Don_1 made his post and I'm afraid everyone will get a weird idea of me if I'd post it now...