It can be up to ten meters long: a basking shark has been spotted off the Croatian Adriatic coast. The body of water in which he is currently staying is rather unusual for this species, reports “20 Minutes”.
Basking sharks typically prefer cooler waters. But conditions are still favorable near the island of Cres in the Kvarner Bay. There are large amounts of zooplankton there, which the animals feed exclusively on.
The basking shark is therefore harmless to humans. However, the species is considered threatened worldwide and is on the red list. The main reasons for this are previous hunting with harpoons and bycatch in fishing nets. It is considered the second largest fish in the world after the whale shark. (fake)