Richard Branson Swims With Whale Sharks (VIDEO)

While swimming with the dolphins is enough to appease many travelers, Sir Richard Branson is a bit more adventurous than most. Instead, it took swimming with sharks to do the trick.

Branson posted to his Virgin blog that he recently swam with 300 whale sharks off Cancun. He told The Telegraph of one encounter that may have been a bit too close: "I was swimming around one of these gentle giants off Cancun in Mexico – and then, suddenly, I realized I had managed to get myself right inside it."

According to National Geographic, whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea, and can grow to over 40 feet long. Despite their size, they are gentle and even allow swimmers to "hitch a ride."

For Branson, this adventure had a mission -- to raise awareness of "the slaughter of these beautiful creatures due to shark fin soup."

Whale sharks are currently listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Branson writes on his blog, "Believe it or not, there are still people in China and Japan who cut the fins off these beautiful, beautiful creatures for shark fin soup and throw the rest of the whale shark back into the water to die. It's too sad for words."

When Californians debated a shark fin ban this year, advocates estimated 73 million sharks are slaughtered each year, largely for shark fin soup, but the Associated Press reported that some critics of the ban felt it was "an unfair attack on Asian culture and cuisine."

The Pew Environment Group reports that nearly 30 percent of sharks and are at risk of extinction. Branson suggests visiting WildAid to learn more about saving sharks.

Check out this WildAid video of Branson swimming with the sharks:

Richard Branson - WildAid Whale Sharks - 2011 from Blue Sphere Media on Vimeo.

Comments

[coreten]

10:58 AM on 08/10/2011

I swam with a bunch of politicians one time. I think they were the most dangerous species of sharks ever created. They would have gone thru a whale shark in minutes.

[sheeple999]

06:33 AM on 08/10/2011

Two headlines that would be much more interesting combined with a guessing game...

Which of these might happen?

1. Richard Branson orders Bacon, eggs and sausages at a transport cafe in Guildford.

2.Richard Branson freely admits that he made his pile by illegally smuggling pop records into England from France and he is, in fact, a very successful criminal.

Clue... Richard Branson will probably never eat breakfast in a transport cafe.

[DrJohnnySkeptic]

04:15 PM on 08/09/2011

I hope he didn't kiss one of them on the mouth, like that other guy who almost lost his lip and had to have over a hundred stitches.

I would do that if I were assured 100% safety. It looks like so much fun to interact with such majestic creatures.

[traceymarie]

07:43 PM on 08/09/2011

They do not have teeth, they are filter eaters. If he rubbed against their skin backwards (tail-head) then he might get a bit of a scratch.

[Max Shaw]

04:00 PM on 08/09/2011

Of course he did. What ELSE would he do with his money and time??

[nervousexpat]

12:04 PM on 08/09/2011

I think it's great that there are so many! When I swam with them in Mexico, we had to look long and hard to find them, even though it was supposedly their migration time. And we only found 4-5

[bradenton]

11:50 AM on 08/09/2011

Leave the sharks alone. And stop abusing the "Sir" title. We don't care.

[Debbie338]

03:03 PM on 08/09/2011

It's because of people like him that these sharks will not end up on someone's menu. I think he uses the "Sir" title as it was meant to be used--for good purposes. Why are you so hard on him?

[HenryDavid]

11:32 AM on 08/09/2011

Isla Mujeres has a marine preserve where there's no fishing nor are the fish threatened otherwise. It's a joy to swim among the schools of so many brightly-colored fish.

I was there 40 years ago when nearby Cancun was still pure jungle coming down to the pristine beach and water. Not a single hotel in sight up and down the coast, only a fisherman's shack every mile or so.

[playsindirt]

11:30 AM on 08/09/2011

I had the pleasure of visiting Necker and meeting Sir Richard several years ago. He is honestly one of the coolest people on the planet. Very, very funny and down to Earth. There should be more Sir Richards ..... we'd be better off.

[blueken]

11:07 AM on 08/09/2011

I swam with about 15 or 20 grey Bahamian Reef sharks off of Stuart's Cove. Of course the sharks I swam with had razor sharp teeth and are hard to count because they swim in and out of your vision. Didn't know that whale sharks congregated in such large numbers. I did know they can be found off the coast of Cancun in the summer. Oh well, jolly good.

[skybar]

11:05 AM on 08/09/2011

I hate when headline writers refer to these English guys, like Paul McCartney, as "sir."
They're not "sir" to me. I don't recognize those royal titles.

[joymij]

11:19 AM on 08/09/2011

It's the same thing as changes from Ms. to Mrs. after marriage, or like being called Dr. after 8 years of college. You recognize those right? Dont be such an Ignorant American and recognize international people for their achievements.

[skybar]

09:42 AM on 08/10/2011

Actually, it's nothing like that. Stop being ignorant and recognize that.

[XxDisfngustedxX]

11:30 AM on 08/09/2011

Way to assert yourself.
And the rest of us should care what you recognize because????

[emack06]

10:55 AM on 08/09/2011

he is the most interesting man I DO NOT know.

[John Nail]

10:25 AM on 08/09/2011

Actually they are the world's largest fish, not really a shark.

[HD2000]

10:34 AM on 08/09/2011

Sharks are fish

[pepperoniprince]

10:37 AM on 08/09/2011

A shark is a fish.

[euromarkusx]

10:09 AM on 08/09/2011

"...an unfair attack on Asian culture and cuisine..."

Maybe they would stop, if we ate Panda burgers

[Tommygun264]

04:18 PM on 08/09/2011

Panda burgers? That's disgusting! Panda kabobs are much better.

[turboturd]

10:09 AM on 08/09/2011

Pork chop survives float around insurance nightmare.

[YoBear]

09:58 AM on 08/09/2011

Scariest part was the music. Great video.