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We\u2019re no backiologists, but we\u2019re pretty sure that\u2019s not supposed to be what a whale shark\u2019s spine is supposed to do. Photo: NOAA\/\/Eric Hoffmeyer<\/p>\n
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The whale shark is an amazing creature. They\u2019re docile things, huge and powerful, swimming around with gaping mouths hoovering up small shrimp, fish, and plankton. Researchers keeping an eye on whale sharks around the U.S. coastline stumbled into one animal a few years ago with an ailment that likely makes life difficult: a severe spinal deformity that hasn\u2019t ever been recorded in whale sharks.<\/p>\n
Researchers who did a study on the whale shark<\/a> believe it\u2019s a form of kyphoscoliosis, which is<\/a> \u201ca combined abnormal curvature of the spine in both the sagittal (kyphosis typically >50 degrees) and coronal (scoliosis) planes, often accompanied by axial rotation of the spinal column.\u201d\u00a0Thankfully, it seems clear that the whale shark is doing okay despite its bent back (Kelly Slater has that in common<\/a>) and is doing everything a normal whale shark would do.<\/p>\n This particular whale shark was first seen back in 2010 by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)\u2019s National Marine Fisheries Service. They tagged it and logged it, and the next time they saw it was three yeas later, at which time they plugged a satellite tag onto it so they could watch its movements.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite its condition, the whale shark seemed to be doing remarkably well,\u201d IFLScience<\/a> wrote. \u201cOver the 98 days the tag remained attached, the shark traveled 2,062 kilometers (1,280 miles) around the Gulf, suggesting the deformity hadn\u2019t stopped the species\u2019 natural inclination to migrate large distances.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite its bent back, the whale shark appears to be doing just fine. Photo: NOAA\/\/Eric Hoffmeyer<\/p>\n If an animal has to have a spinal deformity, a whale shark is decently suited to live with it. Something like a bull shark, for example<\/a>, might have a harder time. Whale sharks\u2019 prey doesn\u2019t move all that fast, so having an S-bend in its spine isn\u2019t something that will make feeding impossible.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough spinal deformities change the body shape of affected sharks and increase the drag an animal experiences while swimming,\u201d the study authors wrote, \u201cwhale sharks do not have a great need for speed compared to their prey, like other pelagic sharks, as they are filter feeders.\u201d<\/p>\n Although it isn\u2019t exactly clear why the shark has the bent back, it\u2019s likely that it was born with it. The researchers aren\u2019t able to say that with certainty, however.<\/p>\n![\"whale](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/whale-2-670x388.jpg\")
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