Richard Branson Swims with Whale Sharks to Raise Awareness

Richard Branson Swims with Whale Sharks to Raise Awareness

Would you swim with sharks if given the chance? Many of us would not even consider it. But Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the famed Virgin Brand including Virgin Records, would. In fact, Richard recently swam with over 300 sharks off the coast of Cancun.

But Richard is not swimming with great white sharks or tiger sharks or even the likes of Jaws. He swims with a much gentler variety of shark, the whale shark. These gentle animals can grow to over 40 feet long.  And much like dolphins, they might even allow you to hitch a ride.

Richard, although very adventurous, is swimming with these whale sharks to raise awareness for the specie’s growing risk of extinction, which apparently is overwhelmingly due to the making of shark fin soup.

Whale shark advocates have released information to raise awareness for growing extinction risk. Nearly 73 million sharks are slaughtered each year largely in part to make shark fin soup. Whale sharks are also listed as an at-risk species on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species.