Divers have spotted on Monday the appearance of 2hat seems to be a whale shark near the Samday area in Marsa Alam, south of the Red Sea.
Egyptian and foreign divers in the waters of the Red Sea took photos and swam with the whale shark, as they expressed their happiness at seeing it during their cruise in front of the shores of Marsa Alam.
Specialists in marine sciences said that the multiple appearance of the whale shark in the Red Sea is a rare and unique environmental event, and that not harming or chasing it encouraged it to stay in the Red Sea.
Officials of the marine environment preservation societies warned against attempting to touch, ride or chase the whale shark, as well as trying to change the course of its movement.
They urged all divers to allow it to move and act freely and maintain a distance of at least three meters in front of it and four meters from behind it to avoid injury for divers and the whale shark.
The whale shark owes its name to its gargantuan size, with the largest adults reaching up to 13 meters in length, making them among the largest species of fish.
As they primarily feed on plankton, they pose no danger to humans.
Hunting whale sharks is banned in Egypt, since the species is endangered.
Concerted efforts have been made to preserve the Red Sea ecosystem, which is the habitat of several other rare and endangered species.
In 2018, a whale shark appeared several times in three different parts of the Red Sea, including Port Ghalleb, al-Fanous, and between the two islands of Giftun, according to Red Sea Reserves manager Ahmed Ghallab.
This shark likely entered the sea from the Indian Ocean through Bab al-Mandab to the Red Sea, Ghallab said.
