قِرْشُ الْحُوتِ أَكْبَرُ سَمَكَةٍ فِي الْعَالَمِ. قَدْ يَصِلُ طُولُهُ إِلَى عِشْرِينَ مِتْرًا تَقْرِيبًا، لَكِنَّهُ يَأْكُلُ كَائِنَاتٍ صَغِيرَةً جِدًّا فِي الْمَاءِ. وَهُوَ هَادِئٌ، وَيَسْبَحُ بِبُطْءٍ، وَقَدْ يَعِيشُ مِئَةَ سَنَةٍ. فِي شَهْرِ فِبْرَايِرَ، ذَهَبَ فَرِيقٌ مِنَ الْبَاحِثِينَ إِلَى جِيبُوتِي. أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَجِدُوا قُرُوشَ الْحُوتِ فِي خَلِيجِ تَاجُورَةَ. وَكَانَ لَهُمْ قَارِبٌ خَشَبِيٌّ كَبِيرٌ، وَقَارِبَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. فِي الْبِدَايَةِ، بَحَثُوا عَنْهَا مِنَ الْقَوَارِبِ. كَانُوا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى الْمَاءِ، وَيَبْحَثُونَ عَنْ ذَيْلٍ يَظْهَرُ فَوْقَهُ. وَعِنْدَمَا وَجَدُوا قِرْشًا، نَزَلُوا إِلَى الْمَاءِ وَسَبَحُوا بِهُدُوءٍ. وَلَمْ يَسْتَعْمِلُوا أَجْهِزَةَ الْغَوْصِ، لِأَنَّهَا تُزْعِجُ الْقِرْشَ. ثُمَّ صَوَّرُوا جَانِبَيْ كُلِّ قِرْشٍ بِالْكَامِيرَا. لِمَاذَا الصُّوَرُ؟ عَلَى جِسْمِ قِرْشِ الْحُوتِ نُقَطٌ بَيْضَاءُ كَثِيرَةٌ. وَلِكُلِّ قِرْشٍ نُقَطٌ مُخْتَلِفَةٌ، مِثْلَ بَصْمَةِ الْإِصْبَعِ عِنْدَ الْإِنْسَانِ. فَيُقَارِنُ الْعُلَمَاءُ الصُّوَرَ الْجَدِيدَةَ بِصُوَرٍ قَدِيمَةٍ مِنْ كُلِّ الْعَالَمِ. وَهَكَذَا يَعْرِفُونَ: هَلْ رَأَى أَحَدٌ هَذَا الْقِرْشَ مِنْ قَبْلُ؟ فِي أُسْبُوعٍ وَاحِدٍ، رَأَى الْفَرِيقُ سِتَّةَ قُرُوشٍ مِنْ هَذَا النَّوْعِ. وَكَانَ أَحَدُهَا قِرْشًا صَغِيرًا، طُولُهُ أَرْبَعَةُ أَمْتَارٍ وَنِصْفٌ تَقْرِيبًا. وَهَذِهِ الصُّوَرُ تُسَاعِدُ عَلَى حِمَايَةِ هَذَا السَّمَكِ النَّادِرِ.
The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world. It can be about twenty metres long, but it eats very small living things in the water. And it is calm, it swims slowly, and it may live a hundred years. In February, a team of researchers went to Djibouti. They wanted to find whale sharks in the Gulf of Tadjoura. They had a big wooden boat and two small boats. First, they looked for them from the boats. They watched the water, looking for a tail showing above it. And when they found a shark, they went down into the water and swam calmly. And they did not use diving equipment, because it disturbs the shark. Then they photographed both sides of each shark with the camera. Why the photos? On the whale shark’s body there are many white spots. And each shark has different spots, like a person’s fingerprint. So the scientists compare the new photos with old photos from all over the world. And so they find out: has anyone seen this shark before? In one week, the team saw six sharks of this