Divers in Malapascua, Philippines, shared an up-close encounter with an elusive deep-sea thresher shark in the shallows.
Thresher sharks spend most of their day hundreds of metres deep but they rise at dawn to shallow waters, around 20 to 30 metres deep, where they visit cleaning stations. “Cleaner fish remove parasites and dead skin,” says Andi Cross, expedition lead at Edges of Earth. “This vital ritual helps maintain the health of both the sharks and the marine ecosystem.”
People travel from around the world to visit Monad Shoal, in Malapascua, which is world-famous for its pelagic thresher sharks. “Malapascua is one of the few places in the world where thresher sharks can be reliably seen year-round, thanks to the cleaning stations they frequent,” says Cross.
Cross and the team visited the cleaning stations at dawn with Evolution Diving to try to catch a glimpse of one of these magnificent animals. “This team has spent years studying these elusive predators, observing their behaviour to better understand their movements and support sustainable tourism practices,” she says.
They weren’t disappointed. In the video, one of the sharks swims past slowly, showing off its remarkable tail. A thresher shark’s tail is its secret weapon when hunting: threshers herd fish into a closely packed group then whip the water with their tail. This stuns the fish, making it easier for the shark to devour its meal.
There’s lots we still don’t know about thresher sharks, “but one thing is clear: their survival depends on us,” says Cross. “By diving consciously and promoting sustainable practices, Malapascua can continue to be a sanctuary for one of the ocean’s most mesmerising predators.”
Credit: Edges of Earth Expedition and Evolution Diving
