'Butanding' on the verge of extinction

MANILA, Philippines — The world's gentle giant is now officially endangered, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said.

The whale shark, also known as "butanding" in the Philippines was included on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species.

"These new IUCN Red List assessments emphasise how urgent it is for the conservation community to act strategically to protect our planet’s incredible diversity of life. The world’s oceans and forests will only continue to provide us with food and other benefits if we preserve their capacity to do so," Jane Smart, director of IUCN's Global Species Programme said a statement.

The group said the status change can be attributed to the growing human pressures. In the Philippines alone, whale sharks are used to propel the tourism industry.

Tourists flock to Donsol in Sorsogon or Oslob in Cebu to experience swimming with the whale sharks. During whale shark interactions, the tourists are carried in a small boat and are guided on a spot where they will find the whale sharks. Although the tour has been well-regulated and boatmen had been trained to avoid harming the species, swimming with the whale sharks is not an ideal scenario.

Experts say ecotourism may be good for the economy, but harmful for the species used as attractions.

While these whale sharks are not placed in containers just like the whales at Disney Theme parks, the center feeds the whale sharks a big helping of krill to keep them close, practically making them captives in their own home. Whale sharks are migratory species and the kind of aggregation we see in Oslob or Donsol is not entirely natural. Keeping them from doing their natural behavior will disrupt their biological purpose.

Wild animals are naturally afraid of people and they are called wild as they are built to be independent of us. Feeding them intentionally will make them associate people with food. Oslob whale sharks are now observed actively approaching boats instead of avoiding them and this poses risk for them and for humans as well.

Whale shark is the largest fish in the sea, reaching lengths of 40 feet. Other major threat to the species are fisheries catches, bycatch in nets and vessel strikes.