Whale sharks, the largest fish in the ocean, travel the oceans hiding the mystery of their life cycle. Whale sharks inhabit tropical to subtropical waters and live as filters of the waters for food much smaller than their bodies. Plankton, fish larvae and eggs, shrimp, squid and small pelagic fishes are the food for whale sharks. In Indonesia, whale sharks can be found anywhere and Berau Waters is one of the areas where whale sharks regularly appear.

Whale sharks appear in Berau Waters due to fishing operations by fishermen using bagan boats. The fish caught in the bagan nets become attractors for whale sharks to approach as feeding behavior. Interestingly, the appearance of whale sharks near the bagan occurred in two different locations (i.e. Talisayan and Derawan Island) with a short distance (±75 Km) and at the same time.

Whale sharks in Talisayan Waters appear throughout the year while Derawan Island only in November-March. A total of 93 individual whale sharks have been identified (as of July 2018) since the 2014 periodic research in Berau Waters. Of all identified individuals, more than 10 individuals occur in Talisayan Waters and also on Derawan Island. The occurrence in these two locations indicates that the Talisayan to Derawan Island waters are the range for the whale shark population in Berau waters.

Whale sharks in Berau waters are dominated by males (90 individuals) with only 3 females. The total length of whale sharks ranges from 3-7 meters, so they are still categorized as juveniles or immature. Berau waters provide a comfortable living space and sufficient food for whale sharks, especially male juveniles. This is evidenced by the reappearance behavior of some whale sharks in different years. Where the other females and adults go is still unknown. Research is still ongoing to answer this.

Protection of whale sharks is a necessity after understanding the unanswered mysteries of life. The dwindling number of individuals in Berau waters is likely to affect the global population given their long movements. Protection of Berau waters, such as pollution, is also very important. Reduced water quality will certainly affect the presence of whale sharks in Berau Waters. Whale sharks may leave if Berau Waters are no longer suitable as a habitat or place to live.