Scuba team snaps underwater photos of whale shark (PHOTOS and VIDEO)

Capt. Mark Christy is the latest to catch a whale shark on film. Unlike other sightings, Christy snapped photos of the whopper fish while underwater. Christy offer this report:

"These where all taken while diving in Destin on board the Dive Vessel 'Sea Cobra' with ScubaTech. It was Saturday afternoon and we were diving first on the Air Force Barge and then the Main Stack of the Bridge Rubble.

On the Air Force Barge we encountered the first whale shark, the small one of the two around 15 to 17 feet in length. We then moved the boat over to the Main Stack of the Bridge Rubble and encountered two whale sharks.

I'm almost certain that the small one was the one that I saw on the Barge. The second one was about 22 to 25 feet in length. Both sharks stayed with us around the dive boat, almost like they were enjoying the company. At one point I even started to scratch the small one and it stopped swimming, as if it was enjoying the scratching. The larger shark did have numerous cuts just forward of its Dorsal fin, probably from a propeller."

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To see more of the scuba team's photos, click here.

To see more photos from previous sightings, click here.

Watch a video of a recent sighting in Grayton Beach by Edmond Alexander, Darcy and Larry Pentel, and James Griffith, see above.

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Meanwhile, a commenter named seanymph007 offers this primer on the species.

"The whale shark lives in warm ocean waters throughout the world, except for the Mediterranean Sea. The whale shark's pattern of light colored spots and stripes are believed to be unique to each fish. Its the largest fish in the world; larger whale sharks weigh up to 60 tons, by feeding on microscopic and small prey: plankton, small crustaceans, squid and larger plants.

As filter feeders they swim slowly, moving their heads back and forth, sucking up water & plankton which flows through the gills. Working like a vacuum cleaner — it pulls in a lot more plankton than other filter feeders. After a big gulp of plankton-rich ocean, it closes its mouth and expels the water through a set of large gills. The gills strain out the water, keeping solid organisms smaller than about 2 centimeters in diameter.

When larger bits of ocean life get stuck in its gills, the whale shark coughs to clear these filters.It uses its sense of smell to locate the most protein-rich waters — they like to feed in the evenings near the surface where krill and shrimp are abundant.

Although it has a mouthful of teeth, the whale shark doesn't usually use them for eating. While it tends to be a solo swimmer, it has been spotted schooling with its brothers and sisters when food is abundant.

Over-fishing, and the popularity of shark fin soup have put a dent in the population of ALL sharks. The whale shark is particularly susceptible to reduced numbers because of the late age they reach sexual maturity. It's believed that whale sharks can't reproduce until they hit their late 20s or 30s. Sadly, the whale shark stands a decent chance at being harpooned before it can give birth, leading to dwindling numbers. Currently, the whale shark is listed as "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Union.

Experts thought the whale shark was oviparous (lays eggs on the ocean floor) then they captured and observed a pregnant female with 300 shark pups, ranging in size from 16 to 24 inches long (42 to 63 centimeters). This meant that the whale shark gives birth to live pups, making it ovoviviparous.

Please show your respect for these magnificant creature of the deep, by giving them thier space; certainly 10 to 20 minutes should give you enough photos to last a lifetime! If you see a pair... leave them alone, they need undisturbed private time together... to sustain their population!

Otherwise, your grandchildren will not have the opportunity to see one!"