Award-Winning Photo Shows Whale Shark's Mouth Filled With Shoal Of Fish

This is the incredible underwater snap that has won a worldwide underwater photography competition.

Daredevil photographer Evans Baudin caught the moment a huge whale shark had a shoal of remora fish inside its mouth.

The Frenchman saw the creature off the coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico, on 5 June, where he runs a diving company.

And the astonishing photo struck gold in Scuba Diving Magazine's annual photography competition.

Evans, 32, beat off thousands of other images submitted to the annual Through Your Lens reader photo contest.

He captured the incredibly rare scene on a private dive during the coronavirus lockdown.

The marine wildlife expert had been documenting the effects of reduced boat traffic during the pandemic.

And the huge female whale shark was friendlier than normal, and swam right towards Evans.

He said: "After two hours in the water with a school of silky sharks near the surface, our boat captain yelled: 'Whale shark, right behind you.' There was a 12m-plus female.

"The surprise was twofold when I discovered about 50 remoras peacefully enjoying a free ride in her mouth."

According to Evans, marine wildlife became far more friendly in lockdown due to the lack of boat traffic.

He managed to photograph the incredible scene before the world's largest fish swam away.

He went on: "It was the first time I have ever seen this. I've seen dozens and dozens of whale sharks around the world before, with remoras going in and out of their mouths.

"But I have never seen so many remoras literally sleeping inside and enjoying a free ride.

"The shark stayed around the boat for an hour and her behaviour was completely normal.

"She never seemed to be bothered by what seemed to me to be a very uncomfortable situation."

Last month, a shark which emerged in a heart-shaped school of fish won the top prize at this year's Drone Photo Awards.

Jim Picôt, an Australian photographer, was the overall winner with his image which portrayed a striking sight - a school of salmon forming a heart shape while been hunted down by a preying shark.

Featured Image Credit: Triangle News

Topics: Community, Animals, shark

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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