SARASOTA, Fla. (TND) — A group of boaters in Florida were reminded "just how small" they are in the ocean Monday when they were visited by the largest living fish.
Michael Russo, who goes by @bocagrandetarpon on TikTok and @boca_grande_tarpon on Instagram, was on a boat of the coast of the Florida Keys for a little pre-Independence Day fun when a local whale shark sidled up next to the vessel.
The whale shark, which is a filter feeder that eats plankton and other small organisms, is considered the largest non-mammal vertebrate (with exemplars of the species known to grow to over 60 feet in length) and an endangered species.
The video Russo posted on TikTok and Instgram shows the gentle sea giant swim alongside the lenght of the boat, close to the surface, before turning around the stern of the ship and seeming to sink lower in the water.
Other passengers on the vessel are heard crying out "Oh my God" several times as the large shark makes its aquatic stroll.
"One of the coolest encounters I have ever had out of Sarasota," Russo wrote on Tiktok.
"We had a visitor some up and show us just how small we are in the ocean," he added on Instagram.
Aside from spontaneous encounters like this, whale sharks can be observed in captivity at the Georgia Aquarium, which is the only facility outside Asia to house the largest fish in the sea.
ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifK%2Bx1qxmqJ6Wl7KiwI6wmK2bmGKzrbvRopuaZZKkrrV5z5qprbFdq7a0tdOem2aaqWLEqa3LnmSsoJGnuG6yyKyfoqaXYravsMSpnKeclaOwpnnDmrBmq5mawLWtjKScsmWgoa6vt9OopWaflaS%2FqLXAZpiqrZGntra5jKCcp6ycmnqotcCnq2aanKqybrzLmqWerF2ksKatzWacp5yRo7SmvsSdZKyolZi2pr8%3D