What is the biggest fish? Hi! Welcome to Curious Kids Everyday. I'm Josh. How are you doing today? It's so good to hear from you. Hey, what is the biggest fish you've ever seen? I don't know what the biggest fish you've seen, but I bet I can guess where you saw it. Was it at an aquarium? I'm probably right, aren't I? Do you remember what kind of fish it was? Have you ever wondered what is the biggest fish on the earth? In all the oceans of the earth, what is the biggest fish? The answer was very surprising to me. Do you want to learn about it today? The biggest fish on earth is called the whale shark. The whale shark is not a whale. Don't be confused by the name. The whale shark is not a whale. If it were a whale, it wouldn't be a fish. A fish is an animal that breathes with gills, and whales don't breathe with gills. But the whale shark does breathe with gills because sharks are fish. And the whale shark is a shark. So a whale shark is not a whale, it's a shark. Got it? Okay, good. And not only is the whale shark a fish, it's also the biggest fish on earth. But how big are we talking? Well, the whale shark can grow to around 40 feet long. And some that we've measured have been even longer. In case you're wondering how long 40 feet is, that's about as long as a big school bus. Can you imagine a shark that big? Whale sharks are usually grayish blue on top with white spots and stripes. And here's something cool. Their backs are darker, which helps them blend into the deep ocean when seen from above. And their bellies are light or white, which helps them blend in when seen from below. So they're blending in no matter which way you're looking at them. This is a common pattern in ocean animals that we call countershading. Can you say countershading? Now, if you've seen pictures of whale sharks, you might have noticed that no two whale sharks have the exact same white spots. Those white spots are always formed in unique patterns, and they're a lot like fingerprints. Each shark has different sets of spots. None of them are the same. On average, the whale shark weighs around 20,000 pounds, but they can go as high as about 47,000 pounds. And you might be wondering, what is something that big eat? Do they eat lots of big things? Well, you might think they do, but actually the whale shark doesn't eat big things. Whale sharks mostly eat tiny things. They are what are called filter feeders. Have you ever heard that term before? A filter feeder is an animal that takes in water and separates out small food from it. Whale sharks swim with their giant mouths open. That's the sound I imagine they make when they open their mouths and take in all that water. So they take in all the water, and that water is filled with tiny animals called plankton. And it's also got little small fish in it and fish eggs and other tiny little sea creatures. Then the whale shark pushes the water back out, but it keeps the food. It filters out the water. It's a filter feeder. So even though it has that huge mouth, the whale shark isn't using it to bite down on giant animals. It's actually just using it more like a big scooper and a filter. Whale sharks are usually found in warm oceans. They swim in places near Asia and Australia and Africa. Even though they're the biggest fish, people who study them often describe them as gentle animals. And here's something that's quite a relief. They pose no threat to humans. They just take in the little creatures and go along their merry way. And that is the whale shark. And that's the whale shark. And that's the whale shark. And that is the whale shark. The biggest fish on Earth. Okay, let's have a quick quiz. No, no, no. I said a quick quiz, not a quick song. Oh, does a whale shark breathe with lungs or gills? With gills. And what kind of food does a whale shark mostly eat? Tiny food like plankton. And what does filter feeder mean? That's an animal that takes in water and separates out the tiny food. Let's play true or false. True or false? A whale shark is a whale. That's false. It's a shark, which is a fish. True or false, whale sharks can be about as long as a school bus. That is true. True or false, whale sharks usually live in warm ocean waters. That is true too. Would you rather be a whale or a shark? Now whales have to come up to breathe and sharks don't have to do that. That's why sharks are fish and whales aren't. So I think I would rather be a shark because I already know what it's like to have to come up for air and breathe when I'm in the water. But I don't know what it's like to just be able to swim, swim, swim and never have to come up for air. So I'd rather be a shark. Alright, let's play what am I? What am I? I help animals breathe underwater. I am not a lung. And fish use me to pull oxygen from the water. What am I? I am gills. I had so much fun today learning about the whale shark for this episode. I hope one day I get to see one in real life. That would be so cool. Do you have a favorite fish? Well now that I know about the whale shark, I guess my favorite fish is the whale shark. And I'm grateful that it's no threat to humans. It's a gentle giant, the whale shark. Definitely my favorite fish now. What kind of question do you think we'll ask tomorrow on Curious Kids every day? I can't wait to find out so until then keep asking questions and stay curious kids. And we've got a few birthdays today. Today is Atlas's birthday. Atlas is from New Mexico and Atlas is turning seven. Happy birthday Atlas. Raymond is from Illinois and Raymond is turning five. Happy birthday Raymond. Gus is from Florida and Gus is turning five. Happy birthday Gus. Vigo is from Virginia and Vigo is turning five. Happy birthday Vigo. And Finn is from Ohio and Finn is turning four. Happy birthday Finn. To all the grown-ups listening, if you're a curious kid, once their birthday mentioned on the show, please visit supportcuriouskids.com and join the Curious Kids Club. That's supportcuriouskids.com. See you tomorrow. No, no, no. Ah yes, much better. Thank you.
