The largest fish in the ocean - and one of the gentlest! Our printable whale shark mask celebrates this extraordinary spotted giant that glides through tropical seas filtering plankton with a mouth wide enough to swallow a small car. Despite being a shark, the whale shark is entirely harmless to humans and one of the most magical animals divers ever encounter. Perfect for ocean school plays, sea creatures classroom projects, World Book Day, birthday parties, and serenely enormous imaginative play.

The whale shark beautifully challenges assumptions - children who expect sharks to be scary are always delighted to discover this vast, peaceful filter feeder whose favourite food is the same tiny plankton eaten by flamingos. Every mask comes with a full colour version AND a black and white line art version for colouring in.

5 Interesting Facts About Whale Sharks!

The whale shark is the largest fish in the ocean - reaching up to 18 metres long and weighing up to 19 tonnes. Despite this extraordinary size, it feeds almost entirely on tiny plankton, fish eggs and small fish.
Each whale shark has a unique spot pattern - like a fingerprint, the arrangement of pale spots and stripes on their skin is individual to each animal and is used by researchers to identify and track specific individuals.
They filter enormous quantities of water - a whale shark filters around 6,000 litres of water per hour through its gills to extract food, swimming with its vast mouth open like an underwater hoover.
Whale sharks are ovoviviparous - they carry eggs that hatch inside the mother's body, and she gives birth to live pups. A single pregnant female was found carrying 300 embryos, the largest litter of any shark species.
Their skin is up to 15cm thick - the thickest of any living animal, providing protection from the teeth of smaller sharks and the barnacles and parasites that accumulate on their bodies.

Printable Whale Shark Mask

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