KEY WEST, FLA. (WSVN) - A charter captain said he spotted a whale shark off the Florida Keys, Saturday morning.
The rare sighting took place about five miles south of Key West, at around 8:30 a.m., in water that was 180 feet deep.
The captain said he and his crew spotted the marine creature feeding and approached it. The ship’s mate jumped in the water and swam near the whale shark, even touching its dorsal fin before it swam off.
The captain said, in his 20 years running a charter boat, he has only encountered a whale shark three times. He estimated the animal to be at least 50 feet long and about 15 feet wide.
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