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Man swims with whale shark in Southwest Florida

Man swims with whale shark in Southwest Florida
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A Naples, Florida man got to experience the swim of a lifetime Saturday when he joined a whale shark for a swim around a Gulf of Mexico artificial reef.

Bill D'Antuono of Offshore Naples stopped by the "L" radio tower 60 miles southwest of Marco Island on Saturday for a scuba dive.  He arrived to a warm welcome from a giant whale shark.

Just in time for Shark Week!

Bill posted a video of the encounter, and says he spent 20 minutes circling the tower with the enormous fish.

Whale sharks can reach over 40 feet in size, and are the largest known fish in the ocean.  Despite their size, they are very gentle and pose little threat to humans.  They are filter feeders, and their diet consists of plankton and small fish.

The endangered fish can be found in open warm waters around the globe.

www.offshorenaples.com