The enormous grey whale shark glides effortlessly in the murky waters off Donsol in the eastern Philippines, its distinctive pale yellow spotted back and fins clearly visible as excited tourists prepare to enter the water from nearby outrigger canoes. They swim to within a few metres of these gentle giants of the deep as their guide makes sure they give the whale shark plenty of room to move.
Cocooned in rural seclusion, Donsol, a placid little town, long kept a big but unintended secret: In the first half of the year, the sea swarms with the world’s largest fish. Whale sharks — some as big as a bus — have put on an annual show for local folks for generations, roaming close to shore and seemingly unafraid of humans, who left the fish alone.