Butanding is a whale shark with scientific name (Rhincodon typus). It is a slow moving and largest specie of fish in the world which is also a filter feeding shark. It can live for about 70 year and can grow up to 12.2 meters and weigh up to 13.6 tons. It is usually found in tropical and warm oceans as their habitat.

As a filter feeder, the whale shark’s foods are phytoplankton, macro-algae, plankton, krill and small nektonic like small squids, shrimps and prawns

The Philippines is one of the favorite habitats of Butanding. They are usually in some parts of Bataan, Batangas, Bicol Region Sorsogon particularly in Donsol and east part of Mindanao.

Donsol is one of the fishing towns of the province of Sorsogon. Currently it serves as a sanctuary to a group of at least 50 Butandings (whale sharks).

The whale sharks “Butanding” usually" visits the waters of the Philippines specifically in Donsol from the month of November to May. Butanding is migratory creature in nature which commonly travels across the oceans which close to the equator. Studies showed that nowhere else in the world they have seen a larger group of butanding than in the waters of Donsol, Sorsogon.

Donsol is a first class municipality in the province of Sorsogon with inhabitants of almost 44,000. Their common livelihood is fishing and with the group of these whale sharks, it has created another way of living through the tourism industry.

There are already group of Filipino divers have documented the sighting of the whale sharks in the waters of Poso, the southernmost barangay of Donsol on January 2, 1998. These have caught the attention of many tourists because of the publicity made on bother audio visual and print media.

Contrary to the fears and hearsays this large whale shark “butanding” are harmless because it is a filter feeder. It was also discovered by a marine biologist that it is ovoviviparous which simply means that the female butanding produces live offspring from eggs hatched in her uterus.

Previous practiced by fishermen, they had been hunting and p plundering the stock of whale sharks as extra income because of the high demand for their meat for the delicacies, aphrodisiac and the medicinal by-products.

However, the Philippine government has banned this practice and declared the whale shark as an endangered species in 1998. In return the fishermen were educated about the value of whale sharks and trained as tour guides as their alternate livelihood especially during the fishing lean season. At the same time the government and the people are working hand in hand to protect the eco tourism of the country.

You can personally see, swim and interact with these gentle giants. Actually the town of Donsol, Sorsogon, holds and celebrates Annual Butanding Festival in the month of April.